YuGiOh Zexal: Breakthrough II
by OverLimit
Summary: Heartland City has been a center for many strange phenomenon and occurrences. Yuushi Sakudo and several others will be key in another occurrence that is about to make itself known. Continuation from YuGiOh Zexal: Breakthrough.
1. Chapter 1: All-Out Invasion

**These are just some really quick notes about this fanfic (Please Read)**

I don't own Yugioh Zexal

I know sometimes people like to submit Original Characters but I request that you please don't. The reason behind this is because I am relatively new to writing and I would rather not mess up something that someone else put work into. Deck ideas however, I am willing to accept in the comments section and will credit if I use them.

There will be cards I make up but I will put a section at the end of each chapter for made up cards that debut. Every other card you can look up to see its effects

All types of summons allowed. So Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, etc are all fair game

Story takes place at about the same time as Yugioh Zexal II after the World Duel Carnival

"Staples" will be relatively rare. Staples include cards like BTH, Mirror Force, Dimensional Prison, Heavy Storm, Raigeki, Dark Hole, Dark Strike Fighter, Goyo Guardian, etc. The reason behind this is that it's more interesting to write when people have more unique cards to them and that duels don't turn into Mirror Force, Dimension Prison, BTH battles. However, if a character runs an Ice Barrier deck, that person having Brionac is not out of the question.

Cards that are character-bound will be arguably rarer that the staples. This is just for the sake of the story. Thus not everyone will be pulling out Stardust Dragons, Shooting Star Dragons, Black Rose Dragons, Neos, Cyber Darks, Arcana, Dark Magician, Blue Eyes, Rainbow Dragon, Planets, Toons, Numbers, etc.

Card Names will be in English and Zexal Character Names will be in Japanese.

**Any comments, feedback, etc, please post whether good or bad**

* * *

Early in the morning, the sun was shining down on Heartland City as a black-haired high school student named Yuushi Sakudo was making his way to the city monorail as he shut and locked the door to his house.

"_Dad's at work in the lab again and Mom went out. Dad was suppose to see me off but he said the lab recently discovered something strange and it had to do with the Iron Curtain or something so he couldn't stay. It would be nice to continue my break but it'll be fun to see everyone at school again. Besides, if I miss the first and easiest day of classes, I might miss out on things happening around Delta."_

He ran while looking above and saw a speeding train zoom right by as he looked over to the station he was planning to board. That monorail station was key not only for Yuushi to attend Delta Academy but also served as his hub for entertainment and travel. However it would be less used for the latter purposes now that school break was over. He had fun at several places like his friends' houses, the beach, the mall, the museum and other areas but now classes were about to begin. Still it was a nice break from exams and studying but also other things like duels and other weird phenomenon. The most recent strange encounter was with a group called Nightfall a few months ago. To be honest, even with Nightfall being inactive and their base presumably destroyed, he could not shake a certain foreboding feeling about what their leader Koji had said to him before. Even that warning from Koji though did not deter Yuushi from having fun as he hastily made his way to the monorail station and boarded the train. Despite the crowd, Yuushi managed to find a seat and opened his dark red backpack and looked inside. Inside were a few sheets of blank paper, pencilcase, calculator, binders and other school supplies along with his dark green D-Pad.

He heard the speaker from above, "All aboard. Next departure in two minutes."

Things were right on schedule as the train left the station two minutes afterwards. Yuushi looked outside as they passed around Heartland Tower and he pondered, _"All break they've been working on rebuilding that place. I wonder how much longer it will take."_

Yuushi tried to scan the tower but realized that there were oil spots and dust on his glasses. He wiped them and put them on but by that time, the train was long gone almost three quarters of the way there. Looking at his D-Pad for the time, Yuushi nodded to himself.

"_The monorail seems to be normal. No need to worry about adjusting which train I take."_

After arriving, Yuushi got off along with a horde of people but he quickly descended down the stairs onto the sidewalk. The city was just as busy as ever with several cars and other transportation vehicles speeding by. Surprisingly, the monorail was actually a bit faster than usual and Yuushi knew that he would be a bit early when he arrived inside his homeroom. Passing by, he saw a street with a broken traffic light along with a cop and a litterbot directing traffic. It was not quite a litterbot as this one's function was to help direct traffic but it still was likely the same model as it had a similar chubby build and face. The robot even had a police hat so that people would know that it performed official duties.

"_I wonder how everyone is now. Ayumi pretty much stayed at home and travelled a bit. I know Hikaru said something about a major tournament and Ryoko went on a family trip overseas."_

Up ahead were a pile of students with their own backpacks and D-Pads converging onto Delta Academy as Yuushi himself walked through the school gates. Already, he could see some people finishing up their duels or their conversations as everyone made their way inside. Turning right, Yuushi made his way into a corridor filled with students making their own way to homeroom as well.

"_Let's see. Classroom 1-D should be right here."_

Opening the door, Yuushi saw plenty of familiar faces as he already noticed Hikaru talking to Ayumi. The two noticed Yuushi as he made his way over and sat down with them.

"Hey, Yuushi. Did you hear the news about Hikaru?", Ayumi asked.

Yuushi was confused, "No. What happened?"

Hikaru was quick to explain, "The best thing happened. At first I thought being in the World Duel Carnival would be the best but those Nightfall morons prevented that. However, since pros from all over came, there was like an open mini-tournament for anyone interested. I participated and I beat the Sultan of Spells and some other people."

"Who?", Yuushi asked.

"A pro duelist. He was in the WDC," Ayumi said filling in some information.

"Yep. I did not win the whole thing but that one win opened some doors for me. My big chance has finally arrived. A scout for a pro league in Heartland City gave me a chance after seeing my performance and I even got a pro duelist named Keita to help me. I just have to train now before I get in some minor matches but then I'll work my way up," Hikaru said excitedly.

A female classmate passed by, "Congratulations Hikaru. If you make it to the top, can I get an autograph?"

"Sure. I'll be sure to remember. As a pro, I have to live up to new expectations," Hikaru declared with pride.

The other boy smiled jokingly, "Good job but don't let it get to your head."

The female of the three plainly stated, "Yeah...congratulations."

"Just need to work hard now. The path to my dream is right in front of me. Maybe I should ask Masaki for some advice. He's probably knows something. I mean he did give me some nice inside information and helped me start this off," the blue-black haired Laval duelist nodded and was too happy to notice the tone of their voices.

Now Yuushi brought up a topic, "Sounds like you two are good friends now. Speaking of the WDC, you both saw the finals and things right?"

Hikaru got fired up, "Of course. There were so many cool things. A roller coaster duel, the cool fields involved, the final platform, those monsters. Shark, Kaito, Tron and Yuma who became the winner of such a massive tournament! Shark Drake, Galaxy-Eyes, Heraldry Crest, Utopia!"

"All those were Numbers though except for Galaxy-Eyes. I wonder if it means anything," Yuushi observed.

"If so many Numbers made it to the finals like that, maybe I should try to get one," Hikaru chuckled and continued, "The ending was a bit rough though. The area around Heart Tower was totally destroyed and I was watching live too in the audience. Reminded me of when Nightfall's base started to collapse and we had to evacuate. News said that an outside group wanted to disrupt the tournament and attacked the tower."

It was such a big event that Yuushi agreed, "I even passed by today and it seems like they have a long way to go before its rebuilt. I even heard that the mayor, Mr. Heartland went missing afterwards."

Keeping quiet during the conversation, Ayumi looked around the classroom, "Do you think Mr. Yamazaki will be late for the first day back?"

"Not likely. Well, maybe but who knows," Hikaru said back.

While looking at the clock, the school bell rang and Yuushi added on, "Now he's technically late."

As that sentence was finished, the door opened and their teacher, Mr. Yamazaki, entered and put his bag down, "My apologies everyone. I am bit late. First day back but that's no real excuse. Bad first impression after the break but let's begin."

There was a lecture on the various states of matter from their homeroom teacher and the morning schedule continued and concluded with a male physics teacher talking about motion and vectors. Classes were typical like this with students either talking notes, dozing off, using their imaginations to be elsewhere or a variety of other things. For a first day back, the lectures were not that difficult or long but that was to be expected though light notes were taken regardless.

Time passed in the high school until it was almost lunch. The teacher looked around the classroom through his glasses, "Either the end of this week or next week, I will talk about combining vectors and how this product affects branches of mathematics, science and engineering along with..."

By this time, most students were looking forward to lunch as the lunch bell rang throughout the classroom. Taking his leave, the teacher exited the classroom leaving the students to go where they pleased for lunch as per usual. Some students already had their lunches out and ran out the classroom while others opted to stay and eat and some others had no lunch and had to buy some food elsewhere. Yuushi and Ayumi got their bags with their lunches inside and met up with Hikaru at his desk as they headed down the hallway and Ryoko joined up with them along the way. Today, they headed to a large round table outside and pulled out some nearby chairs and sat down.

"You guys know what happened to me over my break, what about you guys?", asked Hikaru as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Nothing much. Just went to the observatory in the city, took a break, tried to go fishing but it did not go so well, visited some people, etc. You know, just things like that," said Yuushi as he opened a canned drink.

Similarly, Ayumi took a sip of her strawberry-flavored drink, "I learned how to cook a bit but nothing too amazing. The most exciting part of my break was when we went to the amusement park."

Ryoko pulled out a camera from her bag, "I'm thinking of joining the school photography club. Maybe even the newspaper club but I'd probably have to work on articles then. I wonder what interesting stuff has been happening around the school.

Yuushi was now eating, "Photography? So do you just take pictures or what?"

Now Ayumi was about to finish up her drink, "There a lot of things you have to take into account while taking photos I believe. Lighting, angle, lens, zoom and other stuff."

"Things around the school? Well, uh...there's the new philosophy teacher. Uh...uh...," Hikaru stuttered and thought up an answer, "Reiji Sikiri should be back soon."

"He was at the opening ceremony at the start of the school year before leaving for some trip or something. That's the guy whose father is some Duel Monsters business big-shot? His father is helping to fund some of the projects my dad and his team are working on, right?" questioned Yuushi.

Nodding silently, Hikaru also took a sip of his light-green colored drink, "Yep, that sounds like him. Here's a headline for you, Ryoko. Hikaru Aoki beats the overseas returner, Reiji."

Ryoko chuckled, "I'll believe it when I see it. I doubt people said he was the best at Delta for no reason."

* * *

Lunch continued like that until the bell rang again and everyone went back to their original homerooms as the remainder of the classes continued. In Classroom 1-D, there was a female geography teacher going through her lecture as the students had textbooks on their desks.

"Tectonic plates are found under the surface of our planet and earthquakes can be caused because...," she started to say.

Without warning, there was a small quake followed by an explosion out the window followed by flashes of light. At first, everyone thought it was part of the lecture but even the teacher stopped and looked outside. Next thing they saw was rubble explode upward in the distance as a shockwave destroyed a road with cars and other vehicles smashing into each other. Students began to mutter to each other as the teacher tried to figure out what was going on. Flashes of light kept occurring on the streets as people began to panic and run while a large machine resembling a tank with claws and buzzsaws plowed through the streets. Arcanite Magician began to glow as Yuushi looked at it momentarily but did not keep his eyes on the card for too long as others began to comment on the situation.

"What was that?"

"A movie?"

"Maybe it's a tectonic plate or whatever."

Then something flew past the school window and up into the air. It was a Winged-Beast creature as people could see its talons. Suddenly, the creature screeched so loud that students took cover as the windows of the school shattered. The panic from outside spread inside the school as students and teachers alike began to run outside and see for themselves what was happening.

Yuushi was puzzled, _"I recognized that creature...it's a Duel Monsters card..."_

* * *

Class 1-D ran out too as the roof was hit by lightning and began to crumble. Along the way down the stairs, they saw Class 1-A and Ryoko among them as the four friends met up.

"You saw those things right?", Yuushi quickly asked.

Ryoko nodded, "I saw a dinosaur running around. It was huge and on fire! I swear it looked like Jurrac Giganoto. That was no Augmented Reality, my D-Gazer wasn't even active and no AR Vision I know can destroy roads like that."

Hikaru suggested something, "Jurrac Giganoto, you mean the Duel Monsters card? Maybe it's a city-wide AR Vision thing? Like an experiment."

Again, Yuushi was in thought, _"Another Duel Monsters card...?"_

"If there was something that big, I think Heartland City would announce it at the very least," Ayumi said skeptical about the idea.

Students were screaming as they eventually made their way outside. However, nobody was moving as the front of the school was surrounded by cloaked fiends of some sort.

"Let's try the back," suggested Ayumi.

They turned around and saw a smaller crowd there but nevertheless, the same fiends as before were blocking the area. Looking around, they had all the entrances and exits sealed. Both sides were frozen as the students had no weapons on them compared to the axes the fiends were wielding. After a few moments, the silence was broken as the fiends began to charge forward. Nobody had idea any what to do as they weren't an organized group of some sort. The people at the front had nowhere to go and the people in the back were either too scared to move or had nowhere to go.

"So now what?! Anyone have any ideas?!", Ryoko shouted loudly.

Hikaru made a move for his Duel Disk as he moved to the front and shouted out with all his might, "It's crazy but I have one!"

He slammed Laval Cannon on his Duel Disk when suddenly a portal opened up in front and the blue-skinned Laval monster appeared. Aiming its massive mechanical arm cannon, a ball of magma was shot out at the charging fiend who exploded in flames. Students all looked at Hikaru as the other fiends began to charge. In response though, an deep laugh was heard from somewhere when cannonballs rained down at the fiends in front. Several explosions later, the only thing left of the monsters were dust and craters where they once stood. Standing on a small ledge a few feet above nearby was another familiar face with Captain Dreadeye.

"Hikaru's got the right idea. If we're facing Duel Monsters, then we'll use our own Duel Monsters to wipe the floor with them! Come on!" Masaki yelled out trying to raise everyone's morale.

Though nobody knew how it was possible, there was not one person who questioned how monsters could be summoned like this as the students began summoning their own creatures. A silver-armored knight appeared, followed by an aquatic gunslinger and then even tiger made of lightning. Other people Yuushi recognized from the Delta Duel Monsters Tournament made their presence known too.

"Blade Armor Ninja!", Sakura called out.

"Colossal Fighter!" shouted Yamato.

With three Batteryman AA on his field, Raima activated a Spell Card, "Short Circuit!"

The three identical monsters cried out as white lightning swept the remainder of the fiends at the back of the school. The fiends were jittering around uncontrollably before they exploded and vanished without a trace.

Everyone began to cheer when Yuushi received a call on his D-Pad. He opened communications and saw that it was his father who was calling, "Hey dad. You won't believe what's happening! There's some serious problems right now."

The scientist interrupted, "Does it have to do with monsters attacking Heartland City? Something's causing it and I know it's linked to Arcanite Magician."

Yuushi stuttered, "How...how did you know? Wait, what's Arcanite Magician have to do with this?"

"I'll show you a graph but basically what it says it that there's an abnormal energy covering Heartland City and quickly expanding outwards even affecting the neighboring cities and towns. The energy emitted is similar to the Iron Curtain which is similar to Arcanite Magician. For now, the situation is containable but if it keeps escalating, I'm not sure what will happen," his father explained.

"So you think the Spirit World has something to do with this?", Yuushi concluded.

Ayumi, Hikaru, Ryoko and other students gathered around and could hear Yuushi's conversation but they did not say anything.

Dr. Sakudo looked at the four and nodded, "Based off the energy patterns, it seems that something is calling out to Arcanite Magician. If you can get Arcanite Magician to the lab I can probably trace where the source of this strange occurrence is."

"So that's what's going on then? How's mom?", the boy questioned with great concern.

"Mom's fine. She can take care of herself," Dr. Sakudo began to say when alarms started to go off inside, "We have our own problems here. The fastest way to make it here will probably be by monorail. In an emergency like this, you don't need to worry about schedule or anything. Just work with everyone and try to make it here. I'll say this incase...don't do anything crazy. Call me if there's anything."

With a nod, the call was cut as everyone knew where to go now. If there was a way to solve it, Yuushi figured that it would be the best course of action. The other option was to blunder around without any idea what to do.

Masaki stepped forward and shook his head, "You heard the man. We have to get to the lab! If the lab has a solution, then let's see for ourselves what's over there! I wanted to take it easy today but I guess that's not happening anytime soon now."

This time, a second wave of monsters made up of machines and golems of fire, ice and earth started to approach as everyone planned to clear the way to the monorail.

Mr. Yamazaki brought forth his own monster with a Spell Card, "I use Level Up! Clear a way for us, Silent Magician LV8! Go on ahead of us. We'll hold the area here!"

The white and blue robed silver-haired Spellcaster-Type monster emerged and left a golden breeze of light. One of the machines charged but the teacher's monster empowered its staff and smashed straight through. This was followed in succession with another and another and then another destroyed machine.

* * *

By this time, there was chaos all over Heartland City as duelists summoned their own monsters to combat this seemingly endless wave of invaders. Eventually, they made their way over to the monorail and found it to be extremely packed. After a bit, they found a train that was heading to the outskirts of Heartland City near the lab. Yuushi, Ayumi, Hikaru, Ryoko and Masaki could overhear the other passengers talking about the situation as the monorail departed the station.

"What's going on?!"

"Son, just stick with me. I promise I'll get us through this."

"I heard that the outside of the city isn't that bad."

"Yeah, if we can make it there."

Masaki looked around, "So, does anyone know why there are real Duel Monsters trying to destroy everything? It makes no sense. This is crazy"

Yuushi crossed his arms, "There's probably worse out there. But, at this rate it's going...we're going to have a lot of problems."

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Hikaru said sarcastically.

Trying to find answers on her own D-Pad, Ayumi noted, "We're about halfway there at least."

Ryoko looked ahead, "Here comes trouble!"

In the next few seconds, they could see figures descending from the sky above. There were all sorts of things from floating magicians, elemental beings, giant bugs and even monstrous plants the size of buildings. Ayumi could see an incoming battle and she opened the hidden compartment in her Duel Disk and slotted in her deck. Since there was so much panic and preparation, nobody seemed to notice. Other people on the monorail did so as well as everyone was relatively disorganized but willing to fight.

"It's now or never!"

As a male on the monorail yelled that out, monsters were being summoned to defend the ride.

"Arcanite Magician!"

"ARM Staff!"

"Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"

"Mist Valley Thunder Lord!"

"Dreadeye's Revenge!"

The monsters of the five emerged forth and charged out alongside other monsters from duelists on board. However, not all monsters were able to fly or float which left them stuck on the massive ship Masaki played. This seemed to be the case for many as quite a few monsters were unable to take off and fight which was a huge disadvantage but at least Dreadeye's Revenge could travel and float alongside the monorail.

The hardest thing would be keeping the monorail on track during all this fighting. It seemed next to impossible alone but Yuushi banked on everyone helping out and hopefully pulling through. A sphere of lightning was shot from the sky onto the bridge ahead by a monster above as people began to panic seeing that the train would run straight off the rails and crash into the road below.

A young girl stepped forward, "Let me help!"

She raised up a Trap Card as a platform of light appeared in front. With the fighting going on, the conductor knew that while there was a platform, it was not a track which meant that while the train was on the platform, it would be unstable for a second. While not long, they had to make it to the other side without getting derailed.

"Brace yourselves!", was shouted through a speaker which everyone on board heard.

Everyone either hung on to something like a pole, grounded their feet or just stayed as low as possible when the train violently shook for a moment. Some people hit the roof and many were shaken but overall, the train passed over the platform of light and revealed a monster which was quickly destroyed by a flying gargoyle. Another wave of monsters descended as the duelists on board were rapidly beginning to lose ground. The additional enemy reinforcements made it that much harder as monsters were being destroyed left and right. At this rate things were going, they would get rapidly overwhelmed. Dreadeye's Revenge was holding its own with a variety of monsters using it as either a platform or a second base. Everyone was tense and worried when something started to split the skies.

"What is that?!", Yuushi screamed out.

Everyone looked up as an unnatural storm came in from out of nowhere shaking the monorail itself. The winds got heavier and heavier as Yuushi could see a shadowed figure above. It had the shape of a large dragon when the dragon suddenly screamed out. While its howl reverberated, the skies responded as white and blue sparks began to rip the area apart.

People inside began to panic when Masaki muttered something out loud, "This looks like the Spell Card, Special Hurricane..."

"What...", Ryoko slowly said.

Before anything else could happen, a column of white lightning split Masaki's Dreadeye's Revenge in half as all the monsters on board were destroyed in the blast. Below, the road was split from the impact and the train violently shook once more. Now that a large force of the duelists were gone, the monsters began to get more aggressive and make their way towards the monorail.

Masaki was nearly speechless but screamed out, "No! No!"

Now, a teenager with sunglasses stepped forward, "I was saving this but let's see them get through this! Go, Draining Shield!"

From ahead, beams of ice were shot out from numerous creatures, arrows were being rained down on the monorail from the left while magical projectiles came from the right. A turquoise barrier materialized around the whole train as the attacks vanished upon contact with the barrier. There was no leftover remnants or effects as the attacks were completely negated upon contact. Cheers filled the train as everyone took a sigh of relief with this defense around their ride.

"You did it!", someone shouted.

The teenager proudly replied, "Of course!"

It was not going to proceed that smoothly since the barrier started to crack and the dragon from above was rapidly glowing. A third howl from the dragon later, the barrier shattered and the dragon started to come closer. Now everyone could see that the beast was a large indigo colored dragon with patches of dark blue scales and white-indigo wings. It also had two large grey horns pointing upward that were pointing towards the monorail as the dragon began to dive down generating gale winds around itself.

"Watch out!", Ryoko shouted to everyone.

Indeed, that got their attention with many duelists opting to use their monsters to protect the monorail from this beast. Now the dragon opened its mouth and an indigo sphere of light formed above the monsters. After rapid expansion, the sphere of light released a massive wave of lightning and ice as monsters were vanishing left and right.

Hikaru noticed his monster caught in the attack, "No! My phoenix!"

"Mist Valley Thunder Lord!", Ryoko shouted out in agony, "Our monsters just got blasted like it was nothing."

Monsters on the left side began to turn into blocks of ice and the lightning shattered them into pieces as the frozen beings vanished into particles of light. Even worse, the vortex prevented any hope of any destroyed creatures coming back as the particles of light were drawn into the dragon's mouth. Even Hikaru's phoenix with its revival effect was unable to come back.

ARM Staff stepped in front of the monorail as Ayumi called out, "Mana Protection!"

A see-through light green wall of light crystallized into existence and repelled the vortex of ice and lightning. Everyone seemed relieved but that did not deter the dragon as it was still charging in.

"It was that dragon's effect that destroyed all your monsters," Ayumi theorized, "My ARM Staff was able to protect against it thanks to its own effect."

Masaki was shocked at the appearance of such a monster and thought to himself, _"ARM Staff? That's quite the rare card indeed...so, how does she have one?"_

Arcanite Magician was busy battling on the other side as it released green crescents of magic that sliced through a massive ancient floating fortress which rapidly exploded in a ball of flames before crashing down.

The glasses duelist looked at Ayumi, "What was that? I heard a bunch of weird noises over there! Everything alright?"

She was assessing the situation as the time to go on the offensive arrived, "Let's see after this attack!"

Her Machine-Type monster pointed the tip of her spiked staff at the charging dragon and two somewhat wide and pointed extensions of solid magical energy formed outward from both the tip and the other end. Seeing something coming, the dragon covered itself with a barrier of ice as the people on the monorail felt a chill suddenly blow in. The staff now resembled a double bladed glaive.

as ARM Staff charged forward. Both forces met halfway and clashed releasing a wave of energy but neither side was budging.

"Come on, Ayumi! ARM Staff, take it down! You got this!", Hikaru shouted.

Looking more carefully, Ayumi could tell that it was actually just the opposite with ARM Staff beginning to get pushed back. Despite the effort, ARM Staff began to lose ground and the dragon roared violently and went for a final push.

Seeing this, people started to get worried though an elderly male stepped forward, "Young lady! I hope this helps."

A lustrous silver coat began to form over ARM Staff's armor. The full body armor, leg armor, gauntlets and boots were now the same silver coloring and reinforced over her old armor. With that change, ARM Staff held its ground in the air and the situation had changed with ARM Staff on the offensive. The dragon was getting overpowered and broke off the clash and went for a vicious swipe. The Machine-Type monster stabbed forward and realized a massive burst of energy completely enveloping the dragon's arm before swinging the staff upwards and slashing through the dragon with the other end of its staff. It was a vertical clean upwards cut through the center of the dragon who faded away into an outline of light.

The old man sighed and after seeing that dragon vanquished, everyone on the monorail let out a victorious cheer.

"Hopefully, that's that," the old man said.

Ayumi bowed her head down with respect and gratitude, "Thanks for helping my monster with Metalmorph. It probably saved ARM Staff."

Taking a step back, Yuushi was not quite as cheerful, "There's still fighting going on and something tells me that it's about to get a lot worse."

Everyone looked up to the sky and saw another wave of creatures about to descend down. Many people were already exhausted but they started to stand as there was no other choice.

"They sure don't give up easy. Wonder how many more there are," Masaki commented.

Hikaru prepared himself, "Doesn't matter. We don't give up that easily either!"

"Wait!", shouted Ryoko as she hastily got a Spell Card.

Seeing that card, Hikaru spoke up again, "We tried using Spells and Traps remember? That guy's Draining Shield held up but then it quickly shattered and we had to beat those monsters back."

The girl argued, "Yes but that time it was the dragon that destroyed that card. Now that the dragon is gone, hopefully there shouldn't be anything to stop this."

"Ryoko does have a point. Besides, it really can't hurt at this point. Our options are getting a bit low," Ayumi suggested.

Yuushi's Arcanite Magician was knocked back as the boy with the glasses quickly shouted, "If you're going to do something, now's the time!"

Without hesitation, the Mist Valley duelist raised up and activated her card, "Now I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"

Above the monorail, a flash of green light lit up the sky like a flare signal. Dispersing from the green light, swords of light descended around the fast-moving monorail and formed a barrier of green light with the swords of light acting as anchor points. A large colossus-like creature punched forward and hit the barrier of light but all the force was nullified as the monorail kept moving. Following up, sonic waves and fireballs from enemy Spellcaster-Type monsters were shot out but again, the swords of light held up as the train sped right through the battlefield.

Ryoko chuckled, "I don't think any of their attacks will get through now."

"Great job, At this rate, we'll be at the outskirts in no time and we can figure out what to do there," Masaki commented.

The next stop was indeed the stop that the high schoolers were planning on getting off at as the monorail made a stop. The Swords of Revealing Light vanished and Yuushi, Ayumi and Ryoko got off along with several others though ultimately chose to stay on the rails.

"Are you sure about this? You know that old saying 'Strength in Numbers' right?", Ryoko questioned.

The Dreadeye duelist confirmed his intention, "You have your part in this and I have mine. Besides, we were able to break their siege and saw how those monsters worked. I still don't know how or why this is happening but let's take advantage of our momentum and shove all these freaks out of Heartland City. There's probably others just needing some backup and our crew here should be able to do something now."

"I need to make sure that not only the city but also that my family and little sister Natsumi are fine. They said that they're holding up with some others but I need to make sure of that for myself. Besides, I think you guys will be fine as I heard that most of the fighting was in the city itself," Hikaru added.

Ayumi was concerned, "But there's so many monsters. What will happen if you all get in a tough spot? You'll need a backup plan."

Yuushi closed his eyes in thought but soon started to leave, "Like Masaki said. My dad said there's something he might be able to do. We owe it to them to try to help them out in our own way. Of course, it's the same with us. Ayumi's right though, if it gets too bad then fall back."

Everyone split up as the monorail went off with the three students heading towards the lab where Yuushi's father was.

* * *

The news that spread throughout the city was relatively accurate as there were no real threats along the way. The roads had fewer cars than usual and over the horizon, there was some smoke coming from the edge of the city. It seemed that the battlefield had extended all around Heartland City and Yuushi could not help but wonder how everyone was holding up. Soon afterwards, Yuushi could see the lab and the trio noticed that there were signs of a battle such as smoke and craters. They looked at each other worried and ran to the lab but realized that there were currently no battles going on despite the wreckage. Upon reaching the doors of the lab, there was not any security as Yuushi expected and he just managed to walk right in. Though he saw a few scientists and staff running around, nobody seemed to pay much attention to three students just walking right in.

"Everyone's in a big rush. It looks like they were able to hold off the monsters though," Ryoko remarked.

Yuushi sighed with relief, "Phew. I was getting worried about what might have happened but I'm glad that it turned out a lot better than I expected. At the very least, the worst case scenario was avoided. Now, we just have to find my dad and see what he has to say about all this. The Spirit World and Arcanite Magician and all that stuff."

Lastly, the dark brown haired girl made some observations, "Everyone's probably working on trying to figure out exactly what's happening right now. We never did find out all that much when we went into Nightfall's base."

"Do you think this is what Koji was worried about? As much as I don't want to say it, it would be nice to have his opinion on what's going on. No, any member of Nightfall for that matter would probably be able to give us at least some valuable insight", Yuushi admitted.

A few moments after, the group ran into a familiar person who was not Dr. Sakudo but was someone who likely knew where he was.

"Dr. Hotake!", Yuushi called out.

"Dr. Sakudo did mention that his son and some friends would probably come. We need to hurry. Follow me," the scientist declared as everyone did just that.

They ran down the hall and made some turns before reaching a conference room with Dr. Hotake taking the lead. The doors opened and Yuushi could see several people sitting around a table with a holographic image displayed for all to see. Among the people was Dr. Sakudo as everyone noticed the newcomers to the room with some people momentarily turning their gaze towards them.

Yuushi's father smiled a bit, "Yuushi. Glad to see you're alright. Your mother called before you came here and said that she was doing fine as well."

Dr. Hotake looked at the holographic image, "So did you pinpoint the source of these disturbances?"

Another much older scientist stood up, "Dr. Sakudo and his team said that they had something up their sleeve if his son arrived."

Getting up and hurrying over, Dr. Sakudo began to lead the high school students and Dr. Hotake out, "We'll begin right now. Yuushi, we'll need that Arcanite Magician card when we get to the next room."

* * *

Now the group was moving down another hallway to a larger room as Ayumi had a question, "Dr. Sakudo, I was wondering something. Based off what we saw on the way here, did monsters attack this lab as well?"

Dr. Sakudo sighed, "It was rough but we managed to keep them at bay without too much damage. The attacks in the city are much worse though. Compared to the battles there, we just had a light skirmish."

The group reached some wide automatic doors that opened for the group as they approached which led to a large, open room. In the center was a huge central computer that had screens circling the center area of the room. Attached to the computer was a strange device which acted as a small raised surface though it had lights, scanners and other devices build within. The only virtual screen that Yuushi could read or recognize was a digital map of Heartland City with various pinging red dots and covered yellow areas. One could assume that the red dots were where attacks were currently being held and the yellow parts were the areas affected by these attacks.

"The place where you all found Nightfall's base allowed us to gather some good information. Right now, we know that there is some sort of strange energy given off by Arcanite Magician similar to energy found in these attacks. We traced the origin of that energy and the only thing we know is that it's not from this planet or anywhere nearby for that matter," reported Yuushi's father.

His son's eyes widened, "Don't tell me that it's from the Spirit World?!"

Dr. Hotake started to explain, "We were able to track the signal to rough coordinates based off all our intelligence and data that we've gathered. However if we use Arcanite Magician which is likely giving off a similar signal-like phenomenon, our own tracing will be strengthened which will allow us to more accurately pinpoint the source of these attacks. If it is indeed from the Spirit World, then we can develop a plan of attack and defense or maybe even see how these attacks are even possible."

"I barely followed that but if there's something we can do, then let's do it!", Hikaru shouted enthusiastically.

Ryoko was still in awe of this whole situation, "So does this mean that the Spirit World is a threat to us?"

Hikaru jumped in, "Well, the answer's obvious right?"

"There might be a reason for all this. Certainly, it appears that the Spirit World is outright attacking us but that might not be the truth. That's why us scientists here though, to uncover the truth through all the factors that cloud our certainty using proven methods and statistics," Dr. Hotake proudly stated before signalling over to the raised surface, "Yuushi, put Arcanite Magician there and we should be able to use this machine to amplify any signals coming the card and trace it to an origin."

Pulling out the card, Yuushi did exactly what his father said and placed Arcanite Magician onto the platform. Electricity began to crackle and build up rapidly as jolts surged around the machine before the computer itself started to show warning signs through various screens. The scientists around tried to diagnose and stop the problem but things were getting worse. However, something was telling Yuushi that this electricity was not natural when the area around him started to fade.

"_What the...I can't move?! Now what?!"_

The lab began to fade from sight as Yuushi could feel his surroundings inexplicably change and vanish. All around him were clouds of white and dark purple as he tried to turn his head. However, he was completely helpless as his body faded into this unknown abyss. There was a black portal that he eventually fell into as the boy lost consciousness for a brief moment.

* * *

Taking a moment to open his eyes, Yuushi shook his head and realized that he could move his body freely again. Beside him was the glowing Arcanite Magician card as Yuushi picked it up and put it in his Duel Disk before seeing where he was. The skies were black and Yuushi could see the so-called sky which had stars, clouds, planets, moons and something that looked like an orange sun. The around area them was relatively barren like a mountainous desert with hills and massive structures of rock. He was silent for a moment trying to figure out what exactly happened but there was no time as Yuushi could hear a booming voice.

"So, you are the one that has received Arcanite Magician? Yuushi Sakudo."

Even with a scanning function on his D-Gazer, Yuushi could find no trace of this individual speaking to him. Looking around silently, the only visible things were the rock formations and the barren desert-like terrain.

"You seem a bit surprised so let me take a more appropriate form."

In the next moment, a massive form of light shrunk down into a slightly less massive silver armored figure with deep yellow eyes. The armor had a core in the center but based off what Yuushi could see, the core did not really do anything and was more for show. Despite this being's more visible form, Yuushi estimated that this figure was at least the size of a large apartment building as he looked upward trying to see directly into the massive being's eyes.

"How do you know me? Who are you?!", Yuushi demanded to know.

The figure answered back, "Currently, you are in the Spirit World. You had previously encountered a messenger from the Spirit World resembling a dragon warrior. Likewise, a human named Koji encountered a similar envoy and I know that you both passed their tests proving some semblance of strength which allowed you both to move into the Trial of the Two."

Hearing the news, Yuushi immediately shouted back, "If he was your envoy, then that must make you the master that the dragon warrior mentioned. Are you the lord or god of the Spirit World?!"

"Maybe to humans I seem like a god but I am the leader of the Spirit World and I sent Arcanite Magician and Dark Emperor – Sovereign to be my scouts. I have seen glimpses of your encounters in the past two years and I have watched over humanity's actions. I must say though that I am gravely disappointed," the figure bluntly stated.

Yuushi stepped in, "What does that mean?"

A vision appeared in front of Yuushi flashing through various events such as humans and various monsters fighting, humans destroying their own cities, a dragon burning down a city and humans waging various wars and battles throughout an ancient land. More relevant things appeared such as students in schools being bullies, the victims turning into bullies, the Waterworks incident, Nightfall sending duelists into that coma-like state, etc. Then it moved into Heartland City and Yuushi could see monsters from sharks, dragons, cameras, giant puppets, an acid golem, etc damaging areas in the city that Yuushi had heard of including the destruction and now ruins of Heartland Tower.

"_How did he make me see those visions? Who the hell is this?!"_

All those monsters in the most recent vision had one thing in common as this common factor was etched into different parts of these monsters.

Yuushi muttered to himself, "Those are Numbers!"

Lastly, it showed Yuushi leaving Koji in Nightfall's base as the whole building collapsed in on itself thanks to Koji's cannon device.

Looking down, the figure divulged its reason for the visions, "Since the beginning of your world, both humans and spirits have existed. Over time, humanity triumphed over countless obstacles and eventually thought themselves complete masters of the world. Spirits had less and less relevance until most of them decided to leave the world to form the Spirit World that you stand on now. Though humanity's strength and pride expanded, so did their power and foolishness. Their battles were catastrophic enough to result in untold damage to their own land, resources and even against their own kind. I watched over all this but have not personally interfered though humanity has gained enough power to begin to affect the Spirit World. In many cases, denizens of this world were called forth to do battle for humanity. Powers from spirits were drawn upon and some humans have even visited this world. However, I have only seen negative consequences from the actions humanity has brought into this world even to the point where a massive cannon was constructed recently in an attempt to destroy this world."

Yuushi knew what it was but did not say it out loud, _"That was Koji's cannon in Nightfall I bet."_

"Seeing that has made me realize that humanity's power will more than likely be used to eventually threaten and destroy the Spirit World. Even Heartland City has fallen under threats such as the Numbers and Nightfall which threaten to destroy your city. As such, I have decided that your world must be destroyed to preserve our world before the spirits pay the price that you humans have. These problems must be stopped before they get out of control. You cannot even complete the Trial of the Two which I have given you seeing as how your counterpart was done in by your own hands," the figure continued.

The boy was outraged, "You're crazy! You can't just destroy our world like that! I won't let you!"

"Yet you cannot stop me."

Before Yuushi could do anything else, his body suddenly became paralyzed again as he could feel an intense amount of force or gravity begin to crush down on him. He collapsed face-down and was powerless to move. At the rate it was going at, Yuushi's body would be crushed as he tried to struggle but to no avail.

A glow of light blasted out from Yuushi's Duel Disk as Arcanite Magician stood facing the boy. With a swing of its staff, Yuushi could feel the overwhelming force disappear as he got back up. Arcanite Magician nodded to the boy with the glasses as they both faced the mysterious being.

The being seemed surprised, "It seems Arcanite Magician thinks that what he has seen from you for the past two years causes him to differ from my opinion. Despite your fragile world, Arcanite Magician has chosen to stand with you for now at least. Your Spellcaster seems to be telling me that humans are full of surprises and great potential that could benefit the Spirit World. Then let me see this potential in a duel. Make no mistake because if you both cannot convince me that humans either do not pose a threat or can be beneficial to the Spirit World, I will destroy your world."

From the core of the being, a smaller version of itself was projected complete with the same silver armor and core only on a smaller scale. This projected figure was still around nine feet tall and could tower over Yuushi but this figure had a strange device on its arms which manifested into a deck. The nine foot tall projection took a step back into a duelist's stance and sized up Yuushi who responded.

"_Right now, I'm powerless to do anything but follow along. At least in a duel, the odds are more even."_

"If this is like the dragon warrior, then all I have to do is duel you and finish this! Just like with your messenger, I'll win this duel along with Arcanite Magician and we'll prove just how wrong you are!", Yuushi announced boldly.

Looking back, Arcanite Magician nodded and disappeared as the duel was about to begin with five cards being drawn on each side.

"Duel!"

Yuushi- 4000 LP  
?- 4000 LP

* * *

**Chapter 2 Preview**

Yuushi: This is the most important duel I've ever been in. There's too much riding on this for me to lose. Leader, lord, god or whatever, it doesn't matter to me!

Yuushi: Those monsters are just like the ones the dragon warrior used. No, they're actually much different!

Yuushi: Even if you've been observing my dueling here and there for about two years, you'll regret it if you underestimate me! Chapter 2: Beginning and End.


	2. Chapter 2: Beginning and End

A duel had just began between Yuushi and the god of the Spirit World. Though god wasn't exactly the right word, it was certainly a very powerful figure in the Spirit World and responsible for the current assault on Heartland City. This was the same being that had its eyes on both Yuushi and his friends as well as Nightfall and their allies. At this point, it was a one against one duel against a giant projection of the god itself. This being threatened to destroy the world and now was the time for Yuushi to duel like never before.

Yuushi- 4000 LP  
?- 4000 LP

"I will take the first move," the being echoed and drew a card before staring down at Yuushi, "Do you really understand the situation you are in?"

Yuushi thought it was an odd time to ask but answered, "I just know I have to win and this will all blow over right?"

Without a response, the being grabbed two cards, "Perhaps. Since I want to see your potential, I will give you an easy start. I simply place a monster face-down and set this card. Do not disappoint."

A horizontal face-down materialized followed by a vertical card behind it. That was the signal for Yuushi to start his own turn, "Then let's start this off!"

Swiping the top card, Yuushi looked at his hand and acted quickly, "I'll Special Summon The Tricky from my hand but I have to discard Endymion the Master Magician first."

A small black portal opened up as Yuushi's strange monster appeared. It had a blue cape fluttering with its movements and wore something similar to a black and yellow patterned jester's costume that completely covered its body. The humanoid monster also had two red question marks on its chest and mask (ATK: 2000, Level 5).

The opponent made a move and showed Yuushi a card, "I will activate a monster's effect from my hand. This effect can be activated when you Special Summon a monster. Like The Tricky's own summoning, I have to discard a card as a cost. Chaos Hunter, appear!"

From the ground, a white portal opened and black light shot out revealing a white-silver haired female human monster. She had a blood red armor-dress hybrid covering her whole body complete with armored cloth gauntlets, leggings and boots. Her eyes were covered by something akin to a masquerade mask of similar color while wielding a long whip in her hands (ATK: 2500, Level 7).

"While Chaos Hunter is on the field, you cannot banish cards," the being continued.

Though Yuushi's monster had lower ATK, he was prepared for this eventuality as he raised up a card, "Next I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Solidarity. Since I only have Spellcasters in my graveyard, Spellcatster-Type Monsters I control gain 800 ATK."

The Tricky was enveloped momentarily in a green glow which soon faded though the effect remained indefinitely (Tricky ATK: 2000+800= 2800 ATK).

"The Tricky attacks Chaos Hunter now!"

Hearing those words, Yuushi's Spellcaster raised up its right arm while gathering as much power as it could and concentrated that power along its arm towards its fingers. A finger snap reverberated throughout the battlefield when out of nowhere, Chaos Hunter explosion in a flash of blue light and smoke which completely vaporized the opposing monster off the field. The blast shot out towards the massive figure but the figure was so tall that the smoke did not even cover the shrunken avatar's face which remained emotionless.

Yuushi- 4000 LP  
?- 3700 LP

"I set two cards face-down and I end my turn!", Yuushi concluded.

The figure merely looked on, "So that's your answer. A below standard one I suppose based off my observations."

"It did the job, didn't it?", Yuushi snapped back with annoyance.

"It's my turn then!"

With that, the figure drew another card and quickly revealed what the face-down Spell/Trap was, "Now I shall activate this Trap Card on my field, Simultaneous Loss. This card forces us to send the top card of our decks to the graveyard."

A short burst of wind knocked the top card of both players' decks as they inserted themselves into the graveyard. Yuushi was not bothered by that at all and looked forward but he could sense something powerful. Though Yuushi was not a psychic or had any power like that, there was a shiver followed by some transcendent chill.

"I will summon a very special monster to the field. Feel honored to be in this card's presence. One of my most powerful servants will be called on. First, I will banish a Light Attribute Shining Angel and a Dark Attribute Chaos Hunter from my graveyard. Heed my call to arms! Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!"

Yuushi realized that the card that the being lost from the top of the deck was Shining Angel and Chaos Hunter was there because The Tricky just destroyed it last turn. This type of summon was very familiar to Yuushi as the dragon warrior did the same thing to summon his ace monsters too. Just like before, a light and dark monster would be banished from the graveyard in order to summon something strong. Perhaps this would be the being's ace monster as Yuushi prepared for whatever would come through.

In front of Yuushi's opponent to the left, there was a human male angel with gold hair, gold wings and white clothing while to the right, there was the blood red female. Both monsters were somewhat faded from their original states but it was definitely a sign of a summon as a vortex of blue light opened in between the two monsters who were drawn in. The blue portal radiated beams of white light and expanded as a warrior covered in blue and golden armor jumped through the vanishing portal. This new monster had a shield of matching color along with a brilliant sword (ATK: 3000, Level 8).

"_I think I've heard of that card but from where..."_, Yuushi contemplated.

Next, the face-down monster was flipped face-up and out came a humanoid wearing exotic silver armor with golden shoulderplates and gauntlets covering both arms. Alongside that, the new monster was wearing a chrome silver mask which covered the entire face and a massive purple cloth which functioned as a cape yet also as frontal armor (ATK: 1300, Level 4).

The massive duelist pointed to the new monster, "Dimensional Alchemist's effect lets me banish the top card of my deck to gain 500 ATK until the end of my turn."

Seeing a glow through the mask, the monster activated its effect as the top card from the otherworldly duelist's deck flew up and showed itself to be the Trap Card, Divine Wrath. Right after though, the card faded out of existence as the alchemist powered up (Alchemist ATK: 1300+500= 1800 ATK).

Grabbing another monster from its hand, the silver armored figure slammed down and revealed another card, "Appear now! Mystic Tomato!"

From the newly materialized card, a large red tomato jumped out and turned around showing Yuushi a menacing face with its tongue stuck out. Though fruits and vegetables were something Yuushi did not mind eating, this Mystic Tomato had a massive mouth and sharp teeth and could more than likely eat Yuushi if he was not careful (ATK: 1400, Level 4).

Seeing the tomato monster, Yuushi knew that it was a monster with a search effect similar to the Shining Angel which was banished earlier. From his point of view, there were a wide variety of monsters that this god of the Spirit World was using with varying effects and purposes. However, he did not have much time to think as the opponent pointed at the Spellcaster monster on the field.

"Black Luster Soldier! Remove that monster from my sight!"

With that command, Yuushi knew that his opponent was not going for an immediate search since he could have ordered Mystic Tomato to ram itself into Yuushi's monster though it would have cost the opponent 1400 Life Points. The swordsman readied and in the span of a second rapidly stabbed as countless ethereal swords were shot out and skewered Yuushi's monster. The Tricky vanished into golden particles of light with Yuushi bracing himself as the swords went through him as well. The boy twitched for a moment but maintained his composure though his monster was not as fortunate.

Yuushi- 3800 LP  
?- 3700 LP

Something was wrong though as Black Luster Soldier readied itself again and the godlike being revealed a bit more about this powerful monster, "Now for its effect! Once per turn, if Black Luster Soldier destroys your monster in battle, it can initiate a second attack."

The high school student opened his mouth in disbelief, _"What? That's ridiculous! A 3000 ATK multiple attacker that can be dropped straight from the hand?! That attack along with his other monsters could end the duel right now!"_

"Go!"

A second rain of swords shot out at Yuushi who swung his arms and revealed a card, "If I would take Battle Damage during your turn, Defense Draw lets me reduce that damage to 0 and then I can draw a card."

A clear outline surrounded Yuushi as the swords were repelled off the newly formed barrier which then disappeared as the boy drew a card afterwards.

The being looked down, "A minor delay. Dimensional Alchemist. Mystic Tomato. Direct attack."

The strange armored Fairy-Type monster slowly spread out its arms as purple winds gathered and formed into a black sphere of magic which was shot out at Yuushi who braced for impact. The attack collided and exploded sending the boy back with his arms slightly singed as the tomato monster bit into the black haired duelist who fell to one knee with one eye closed in pain.

Yuushi- 600 LP  
?- 3700 LP

"Then I will place one card face-down and end for now."

A lone card appeared in the back line of the projection-like duelist behind the three monsters.

"Is that all your world has to offer? If that is all, then there is nothing more to see. This unwieldy desperation as you struggle. As humans become desperate, they become irrational, unpredictable and destroy all around them. I cannot have something like that infect the Spirit World. So, Yuushi Sakudo, do still think there's any hope of winning? Do you have enough power to disprove what I just said?", the mysterious foe asked.

The boy struggled but managed to get onto his feet, "I'm not here to prove anything but what Arcanite Magician said was true. Power, potential and even things like desperation are just things that humans use to achieve their goals. Not all humanity is as dangerous to your world as you make out. I'm sure there's been countless interactions that have gone unnoticed which strengthen the bonds between spirits and monsters. Arcanite Magician and my deck are proof of that and the hope that I'll rely on. So now...it's our time to show you the bonds we've developed!"

Yuushi started his turn and looked at the cards in his hand before he realized what he could do, _"I wonder why he did not Rank 4 Xyz Summon last turn. But still, with these cards and the current situation...if things go well, I can win this turn!"_

"I summon Magical Exemplar!"

The female Spellcaster-Type monster appeared through a portal as her feet hit the ground and she looked upwards seeing three monsters on the field with none by her side. She was wearing golden chains of jewelry along magical glyphs on her neck and forehead though there were none on her turquoise garments (ATK: 1700, Level 4).

Even his opponent knew what Yuushi was planning, "Planning to Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician? Do you really think my own servant can defeat me? I know that Spellcaster better than you, human."

A card formed on Yuushi's side, "I activate the Spell Card, Spell Power Grasp! When there's a card on the field that can use Spell Counters, I add a Spell Counter on that card. Furthermore, Magical Exemplar's own effect gives that monster another two Spell Counters for each Spell Card activated giving it a total of three Spell Counters."

Magical Exemplar started to focus with white mist beginning to form around her followed by three white spheres of magical power. She was then surrounded by a faint white aura which disappeared though the three spheres remained and began to float around her (Exemplar SC: 3).

"After using Spell Power Grasp, I can add another one from my deck to my hand but I can't use it this turn."

After retrieving the same Spell Card, Yuushi's deck rapidly shuffled but now he placed his Duel Disk in a position upwards where he could easily access the graveyard for his next move, "Time to make use of those Spell Counters. Since Magical Exemplar has three of them, I can Special Summon a Level 3 Spellcaster-Type monster from my hand or graveyard like the Foresight Magician in my graveyard thanks to your trap. Here we go!"

Raising her hands, the three Spell Counters around Magical Exemplar followed her will and circled above the battlefield. The Spell Counters began to leave behind a trail or light that weaved itself into a blue portal of light which opened the way for Yuushi's other monster (Exemplar SC: 0). A blue hooded male holding a crystal mirror with blue robes and garments came through the portal. As the gem on the hood lit up, the mirror shimmered and reflected whatever the object was lined up with (ATK: 400, Level 3 Tuner).

Everything was set up for the arrival of Yuushi's ace as he reached for a card in his Extra Deck, "I'm tuning my Level 3 Foresight Magician and my Level 4 Magical Exemplar! Let's see how well you really know this monster!"

The female Spellcaster leaped into the air and transformed into four spheres of white light while at the same time, the Tuner Monster remained on the ground but turned into three green rings that flew up and encircled and white spheres.

"A magician matched only in the mythic era! The illuminating force from the cosmic legends! Synchro Summon! Appear, Arcanite Magician!"

A column of green light exploded from the white spheres as the shadow of another monster was cleared up. Inside the column was a blue magician with similarly colored robe-like armor holding a green staff tightly in his hands. Now that it was Yuushi's last hope, Arcanite Magician's staff radiated a magical green light as he prepared to give it all he had despite the overwhelming odds (ATK: 400, Level 7).

Yuushi pointed to his monster, "I'm sure you're aware but this Spellcaster casts 1000 ATK for each Spell Counter on it and when it's Synchro Summoned, there's already two on it. Additionally, my Continuous Spell, Solidarity gives all Spellcasters another 800 ATK."

A green aura briefly surrounded the ace monster as it's strength rapidly grew into something much more formidable (Arcanite ATK: 400+800+1000+1000= 3200 ATK, SC: 2).

Regardless, the being was not impressed, "You don't understand, no matter what you do, it is pointless. Even if you don't suspect it, that is what has already been decided."

"For someone so mighty and has observed the things around me for two years, you sure don't know me very well. I'm not going to back down when there's so much at stake!" Yuushi yelled back trying not to sound hesitant as he still had all the pieces to his plan in place.

Next, pieces of a glass formed in mid-air to make a familiar mirror as Yuushi could see the top card of his deck, _"Defender the Magical Knight. On my next turn if there is one, I'm not too worried about Spells and Traps and it's hard to get a strong monster with no cards in the opponent's hand. Survival from destruction and another monster with 2400 ATK after Solidarity would be nice."_

Leaving the top card of the deck alone, the black-haired duelist reached into his graveyard, "From the graveyard, I'll use Foresight Magician's effect. I can banish this card to place another Spell Counter on Arcanite Magician giving my monster enough power to wipe out all your monsters in one move! For each Spell Counter removed, I can destroy a card on the field. Strike now! Pulsar Wave!"

Though Arcanite Magician received another Spell Counter (Arcanite ATK: 3200+1000= 4200 ATK, SC: 2+1= 3), three green orbs of magical power were quickly drawn into the staff (Arcanite ATK: 4200-3000= 1200 ATK, SC: 3-3= 0) which then caused the tip of the staff to explode with energy. By simply holding the staff above its head, multiple green waves of magical energy were rapidly shot out and sliced through the three targets. Mystic Tomato, Dimensional Alchemist and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning vanished off the face of the battlefield. However, Dimensional Alchemist was not quite done yet as a black vortex formed in front of Yuushi's opponent.

The shrunken avatar stuck its hand in the black vortex and retrieved Shining Angel while the figure went into detail, "When Dimensional Alchemist is destroyed on my field and sent to the graveyard, a banished monster can be returned to my hand. Shining Angel is the servant I want to return to my side."

Though Chaos Hunter would have been the smarter choice, it required two tributes to summon normally. It's Special Summon could be done but it would need a discard as a cost and currently the being from the Spirit World only had that one card meaning that it would be impossible for Chaos Hunter to be of any practical use next turn. Even if it were somehow summoned out, its 2500 ATK was far too low to compete with Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode.

With no monsters left in the way, the next move was obvious, "Attack with Starlight Horizon!"

Now the staff was shining very brightly with rapid fluctuations in power but it was clear that magical energy was being gathered and concentrated.

However, the silver armored being was ready with a counter, "As I said, you cannot defeat me with my own servant. Trap Card activate! Dimensional Prison! This effect allows me to banish an attacking monster immediately. Goodbye, Arcanite Magician. Your time on the field has come to a halt."

A powerful force suddenly revealed itself in the middle of the battlefield. Even the boundary of space began to crack as a black and dark magenta portal opened up and began to draw in Arcanite Magician who cancelled its attack and tried to defend. Although the monster put up a strong defense, it was futile as Arcanite Magician was quickly being sucked towards the gap in space.

Yuushi was even beginning to get drawn in but held his ground, "Perfect! Just what I hoped for!"

For the first time in the duel, the figure's face slightly moved, "What do you mean?"

"Our power, our drive to move forward, our interactions with others and the unseen miraculous bonds that form from that combination. Even with Arcanite Magician, it was perhaps luck that we met after you sent that card for observation. There might not be things in humanity you like but let me show you the culmination of these bonds. As you want to protect your world, we will protect ours!", the boy passionately shouted.

Finishing that, the Spellcaster duelist revealed his own face-down, "Here it is, the card that will settle this duel. I activate the Trap Card, Assault Mode Activate!"

"...What's that?", the being's voice said with some curiosity.

With that, a burst of white wind blasted out from Yuushi which surrounded Arcanite Magician. The monster in question teleported off the field before being drawn into the dimensional vortex but the otherworldly opponent could feel a strange yet unfamiliar force building up above

The black-haired duelist explained, "I tribute Arcanite Magician and then I can Special Summon an '/Assault Mode' monster with Arcanite Magician in its name from my deck."

A flash of light appeared where the massive being was looking which quickly turned into a green summoning circle. Yuushi knew that everything would ride on this next move but he was ready to show this being just how far they had come.

"The evolving magician that resonates with the cosmos! Force of the buster known throughout! Mode Change! Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode!""

Slowly descending down until landing, Yuushi's strongest monster stood on the battlefield and stared at his master from the Spirit World. Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode was Arcanite Magician except with heavier red and dark purple armor. The monster however had more magical power at its disposal with its larger green staff along with green gems on its armor and helmet acting as amplifiers (ATK: 900, Level 9).

Continuing its power-up, Yuushi went on, "When this card is Special Summoned, it gains two Spell Counters and 1000 ATK for each one and with Solidarity up from my first turn still, that's another 800 point ATK boost."

The green gems began to glow brightly with the tip of the staff have the strongest glow of all (Arcanite/AM ATK: 900+800+1000+1000= 3700 ATK, SC: 2)

The figure looked at the changed monster, "So this is what you meant earlier by 'Perfect'".

Yuushi nodded, "You got that right. Since you have 3700 Life Points left and my monster has exactly that amount, I just need one attack. However since this is still the Battle Phase and I have a monster that hasn't attacked yet, that attack is about to come your way! If this hits, I win. The only card in your hand is Shining Angel which does not help you now, nothing on your field and to my knowledge, nothing in your graveyard that can stop this. It's a secure scenario so it is indeed 'Perfect'. So, what do you think? Even if the world is fragile and even if we have the power to destroy it, as long as it's controlled power, then we can use that as a benefit rather than a detriment."

"So this is a form of controlled power. Then show me the strength it has...if you can, of course."

An unsettling feeling hit Yuushi for a moment but he shook it off and continued, "Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode! Finish this duel now! Satellite Resonance!"

Now with all that built-up magical force, Arcanite Magician used not only its staff but the remnants of energy from the gems on its armor to form a massive green sphere of light high above the duelists. It expanded further and further until it reached a sufficient size which was followed by Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode swinging its staff. This caused the sphere to flash which was followed by a dispersion of green beams that were shooting out towards the individual from the Spirit World. An orange glow faintly appeared in front of Yuushi's opponent before something started to form. A white-haired humanoid with black metallic armor came into transparent form from the orange glow. With its metal spiked pauldron forward, the new monster took the force of the Satellite Resonance attack. Despite its ghostly and see-through form, the monster was as solid as the real thing as it sacrificed itself to ensure that its master survived.

Yuushi scowled, "But how?!"

The figure looked at his opponent, "When I am attacked by a monster, I can banish Necro Gardna from my graveyard to negate your attack."

"The graveyard? When did you send that card there?"

"Do you not remember when I Special Summoned Chaos Hunter? It required me to discard a card and that is when Necro Gardna started to rest in my graveyard and has remained until such a moment would come.

Recalling that moment, Yuushi was shaken but the current situation was still pretty good for him as he analyzed it, _"Alright, there's nothing on the field still and now for sure I know that there's nothing too useful in the graveyard. Shining Angel is the only card left and can be summoned next turn but that's also not very helpful. Traps can be eliminated by Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode followed up by Defender next turn for at least 4100 damage and that's not factoring the Spell Power Grasp I have still. Even now Arcanite Magician has a massive 3700 ATK which is extremely tough to take down. Lastly, this Magic Drain trap should stop any Spell Cards from being played until that time comes."_

Grabbing the aforementioned Trap Card leaving one card in his hand, the Spellcaster duelist was prepared, "One card face-down and that's my turn."

"So this is the potential that Arcanite Magician was telling me about. A unique turn of events but don't get ahead of yourself human, it is still far too low of a level to defeat me," the being acknowledged with confidence.

This time Yuushi was the one with self-assurance, "Right now, you don't really have many options left."

"That is one way to look at it but the way I see it, you are the one with little options left. As a matter of fact, all I need is a single of my servants and this will end in your defeat," the silver figure said changing its tone.

"What does that even mean?!", Yuushi argued back loudly, "Just because you have that monster doesn't mean you'll get it. There was no search effect or anything like that."

In response, the silver avatar raised up its arm and opened its hand in silence. Likewise, Yuushi watched without saying a word wondering exactly what was going on.

"Let me show you what I mean. The difference between us, the gap that has allowed me to watch over both worlds. I was merely using a fragment of my power but I will now use a more suitable amount! Let's see how you do against this! The time has come and this will all end with a single move. Behold!"

After the being's declaration, particles of light gathered in the palm of its hand as even the being's deck was covered in the light. On the other side, Yuushi shook his head with his mouth somewhat open in great surprise as he then gritted his teeth. This had to have some sort of meaning but right now, the only thing Yuushi could do was look on in awe while the shining arm of the avatar formed a sphere of light in front.

After grabbing the sphere, it condensed itself into another card that was about to be played, "Now I banish Dimensional Alchemist and Mystic Tomato which allows me to summons another of my strongest servants! Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End!"

Upon that call, the area was suddenly covered in darkness from out of nowhere. The weird part was that the darkness was accompanied by a faint purple glow that also covered the battlefield. Realizing where the source of the darkness was, Yuushi looked up and could see that the sun above was blotted out by a black portal that did not let much light through. A shadow could be see coming down and Yuushi could make out wings and the shadow was identified as a dragon upon descent. A second later, the boy could see the mostly green and brown dragon with an orange mane roar down on him and Arcanite Magician. This was certainly a dragon Yuushi had not seen before in any duel he's ever been in and if this being was willing to put so much faith in this monster, it was certainly not to be underestimated (ATK: 3000, Level 8).

"Another Light and Dark monster was just banished. High attack points but...wait, the Envoy of the Beginning and now the Envoy of the End...where have I heard this before," Yuushi said aloud while trying to remember any textbooks or articles he had heard of until he recalled something, "Wait a minute! If I recall correctly, ever since these cards were heard of, duelists have searched far and wide for it is said that possession and play of one of these cards is almost enough to win any duel due to their extremely powerful effects. However, it has been debated on whether or not these cards really existed as no one has seen them in so long. Black Luster Soldier nearly won the duel and now this thing..."

Nodding, the being continued, "Correct. Each time these Envoys end up in the hands of humans, they have gone on to do great things. Go, Chaos Emperor Dragon!"

Yuushi- 600 LP  
?- 2700 LP

"I pay 1000 Life Points to activate this dragon's great power. Due to its effect, both of us have to send every card in our hand and field to the graveyard and then you lose 300 Life Points for each one sent this way."

"For both of us that's four cards on the field and two in our hands which is six cards for...1800 damage...that can't be!," Yuushi slowly realized.

At that point, every card on the field and hand were known but it really did not matter as Chaos Emperor Dragon opened its mouth and Yuushi could see flames starting to spread out. Aiming down, the green and brown dragon released a torrent of flame that covered the ground and rapidly began to rise. Everything was a hazy field of flames as every card on the field was incinerated as both duelists even had the cards in their hands light up. Even Chaos Emperor Dragon itself could not withstand its own effect as even it was burned into ashes. Yuushi tried to extinguish the flames as he started to sweat from the heat but it was no good as a red hue of light built up in front of him. He was blasted by the red force as he was blown back onto the ground leaving an explosion of smoke.

Yuushi- 0 LP  
?- 2700 LP – WIN

A few hundred feet away from his original location laying on his back, the black-haired boy struggled to move. There were burn and dirt marks all over him and the flames singed his clothing. That was the least of his problems though as he managed to stand back up and saw that the avatar remained on the other side.

"_This...this can't be. No...I just let everyone down. Even after Arcanite Magician stood up for me and put its faith in this duel alongside me. I wasn't able to show all my potential when it mattered most,"_ the boy scowled to himself disappointed and wondered what would happen next.

The being walked over, "It is over. I have made my judgment."

Yuushi wanted to at least try to say something but the last time he tried that, he almost died and accomplished nothing if not for the help of Arcanite Magician so he just stood there thinking of something else he could try.

"While the duel itself was admirable, the most interesting part was the 'evolution' taking form in this so-called Assault Mode. It had the power to change one of my servants into something not quite what I know yet not quite what I don't know. I had sensed this power when the dragon warrior you know and the black wizard that Koji had known both mentioned this to me during their evaluations. I brushed it off until I had seen it for myself. This evolution may be beneficial to the Spirit World but I have yet to see much of that. Very well then, I will withdraw and observe for now but I will need more information in the future. As both you Yuushi and Koji have exhibited this potential, there may very well be others who can do the same and as such I need to widen the scope of this experiment. Yes, not only in physical size but as well as time and space through the history of Duel Monsters that humans are so familiar with. You, Yuushi Sakudo and Arcanite Magician, are currently unknowns in my experiment. You will represent the Enigma," the being said finishing up its speech.

Shaking his hand, Yuushi was glad that this being would withdraw but really had no idea what was happening, "What do you mean by 'Enigma'?"

The being ignored this, "We will meet again at a much later time, Yuushi Sakudo. While I do not have a real name, you may call me Judgment as that will be my role to humans at a later time. Here is my challenge. Prove to me the strength of humanity and these bonds that have allowed this productive and controlled evolution. By doing so, I may yet see ways that this can benefit the Spirit World which means that I will not intrude further. If not, then your planet will be no more the next time I see you."

The boy looked on almost speechless and shook his head still trying to process everything that was happening but the being in front now known as Judgment did not give him any time, "I will send you back to the time when you gathered in that small room in that small building with all those other humans before my attack took place. For me to witness this potential unhindered, my attack this day shall not take place. All must be exactly the way it was before I made my judgment today. However, I will be watching and will have my own role to play in the grand scheme of this experiment."

* * *

With a wave of Judgment's hand, dust from the ground swirled around Yuushi who he shielded his eyes with his right arm. Despite the glasses on his face, the dust was too bear to bear until the boy suddenly realized that he was back in Classroom 1-D as he lowered his arm and looked around. According to the clock, school was about to start as he noticed Ayumi and Hikaru staring at him.

"Hey, Yuushi. Did you hear the news about Hikaru?", Ayumi asked.

"Uh...he started his path to be a pro duelist...", Yuushi slowly said.

The other two looked over as Hikaru spoke up, "Did I mention it to you guys before over the break? That sort of ruined the surprise but it's fine. I guess I need to remember this stuff more often."

Minutes later, class was about to start but there was no sign of Mr. Yamazaki as Ayumi looked around, "Do you think Mr. Yamazaki will be late for the first day back?"

This had already happened before according to Yuushi's memory as the boy could barely believe it and looked at the girl, "I think he'll show up right after the bell rings and the lesson will be about vectors."

Ayumi replied, "What makes you so sure? He could..."

Before she could finish, the school bell had rung and immediately after, Mr. Yamazaki hastily entered and put his back down, "My apologies everyone. I am bit late. First day back but that's no real excuse. Bad first impression after the break but let's begin."

She commented, "Yuushi, you seem to be predicting everything right today. Must be your lucky day today."

Nodding back, Yuushi knew that this was not a lucky day as he drowned out almost everything Mr. Yamazaki was saying about vectors and was still wondering what exactly had happened in the Spirit World, _"What just happened? It doesn't make any sense. Telling Ayumi that some otherworldly being just called me over to the Spirit World and beat me in a duel, Arcanite Magician saving me, and that this being was conducting an experiment involving humanity probably wouldn't sit too well. She has helped me before against Nightfall but...I mean, this is crazy! I mean, whatever I duelled against can even turn back time. Just what am I up against here..."_

* * *

**Original Cards**

Foresight Magician

Level 3

Water Attribute

Spellcaster/Tuner

ATK: 400, DEF: 300

If this card is sent to the graveyard as a Synchro Material Monster, you can see the top card of your deck. You can return the card to the top of bottom of the deck. If you control a face-up Spellcaster-Type monster that you can place a Spell Counter on, you can banish this card from your graveyard to add 1 Spell Counter to that monster.

* * *

**Chapter 3 Preview**

Ryoko: Now that the new semester started, what do you think you guys will do? Clubs are recruiting.

Hikaru: Whoa! So many! From sports to duelling to all sorts of stuff I've never even heard of. So Yuushi, which one are you interested in? Hey, Yuushi, you there?

Ayumi: He's been like that for a while. Did something happen...

Yuushi: There has to be some clue as to what to do. Chapter 3: Delta's Duelists.


	3. Chapter 3: Delta's Duelists

The next morning, Yuushi had gotten off the monorail and was making his way towards Delta Academy. Students were making their way inside either by walking, having their parents drop them off near the front gate or taking public transportation such as the monorail, public bus, school bus, etc. Normally, Yuushi would have been looking all around him on his walk to Delta not only to pass the time but to take in the scenery. Today though, he had been more preoccupied than usual since the encounter with Judgment left him worried about what to do next.

"_Alright, there has to be something that tells me what this Judgment thing is. The problem though is that there's no evidence of that attack. On my way, the streets that got ruined, the buildings that got destroyed...it doesn't make sense."_

Classes went on like normal with various teachers moving in and out of the classroom. Hours later, it was lunchtime and Yuushi, Ayumi, Hikaru and Ryoko met up at a table outside and started to eat and talk.

Hikaru moaned, "Mr. Yamazaki gave us a report to do. I mean, can't he take it easy on us? It's still the first week back."

Ryoko chuckled, "I haven't gotten anything too bad yet. Just a small few paragraphs in English but that's about it."

"At least there's a week or so to do the assignment," Ayumi said.

"Hey, you're right Ayumi! That means I can check out all the posters around the school. Baseball, basketball, tennis, duelling, cooking, culture, arts, all those clubs are going to be recruiting," Hikaru perked up.

Yuushi took a bite of his sandwich as Ryoko added on, "Just joined the photography club this morning. The first meeting will probably be either at the end of the week or the start of next week. Yuushi, what clubs have you had your eye on?"

The boy with the glasses did not answer as Hikaru spoke up, "Got any ideas?"

"Uh...sorry, there were signups for clubs this week?", Yuushi asked trying to get back in the conversation.

Hikaru was puzzled, "Come on, Yuushi. You didn't see all the posters and booths in the main lobby? The gardening club even had someone dressed up as a large rabbit walking around with flyers."

Honestly, Yuushi did not remember much of today at all but tried to fake it, "Yeah, I saw that. I was just thinking about other things."

"Something wrong? Usually, you're on point with note taking but I noticed that you were behind when Mr. Yamazaki started his lecture," Ayumi commented with worry.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. It's just something I need to deal with," Yuushi replied.

* * *

The other three went off on another topic that Yuushi did not really listen to as lunch ended less than an hour later with the bell ringing throughout the school grounds. The afternoon classes continued until the final bell rung signalling the end of classes. Many people flooded out of their classrooms and while many were heading home, this week there were many people left in the school because of clubs week. Hikaru was already out the door and presumably headed to the main lobby of the school.

Ayumi packed up her notebook and stationery equipment, "Yuushi, are you going to be joining any clubs?"

Yuushi put his dark red backpack on his shoulders, "I've never really joined a club. Sounds fun and all but it's not for me. What about you?"

The girl smiled, "I'm like that too. I haven't ever joined a club and like the saying goes, if it's not broken, don't fix it."

"Well, I'll actually be in the library for a bit. I'm going to get some books and start working on Mr. Yamazaki's assignment. If I get started now, it won't be as bad later on," Yuushi stated.

"Then I'll see you later. Good luck," Ayumi said as she headed out the classroom.

With that, Yuushi exited and wanted to head to the library but clubs week was mostly only for a week or so. He felt that it would not hurt to take some time to see what clubs Delta Academy had. Being one of the last people out the classroom, the hallways already had students moving around everywhere. As the main lobby was downstairs, Yuushi made his way to the stairs and already he noticed various posters and advertisements for clubs like his friends had mentioned. However, he did not read any of them as he went downstairs and there was a large, nearly round lobby with booths set up along the walls.

"_Let's see what this is all about. First time I've seen a high school clubs week."_

Most booths had put a lot of effort in their presentations as they had known that not only does a good representative get more members but a visually appealing set-up will draw in even more potential members. Decorations and banners hung from the ceilings and walls with people dressed up and Yuushi even noticed a peculiar sight.

"_Well, there's that large white rabbit running around that they mentioned. It's even coming this way."_

The person in the white rabbit costume walked up to various students and gave them flyers before coming up to Yuushi, "The gardening club is having a light lunch for anyone interested. Why not hop on over and take a look?"

"Sure, I'll think about it. Thanks."

While Yuushi did not have any interest or much knowledge in gardening, he did not want to seem rude as he took the flyer and looked at it while walking to other booths. Based off the voice, the person inside the costume was a male as the rabbit started going to others students. Further along, there was someone dressed up as a shrine maiden, people in various sports gear, a chess table for the chess club and a computer gaming club among other stand-out booths. Roughly half an hour later, Yuushi had been all around the massive lobby and seen pretty much everything he had wanted to see. Taking his leave, he went back up the stairs and made his way towards the library.

* * *

The double doors to the entrance of the library was already open for students to come and go as they pleased. There was a plain sign above the doors letting students know exactly where the library was as Yuushi entered and to his surprise, the library was already crammed with people.

"_It's not midterms or anything so why? Oh, I see,"_ the boy wondered until he saw some classmates he recognized in the area, _"I guess for clubs week, some people have their meetings or gatherings here. I also suppose that students want to chat with their friends or something since it's still the first week back."_

Scanning the room, Yuushi did not see a table that he could use but there was another source of seats available. Everyone was whispering to each other since they had to keep the noise level to a minimum for the people around them. Delta Academy's library also had large soundproof rooms in the back which were normally reserved by groups in advance for their own activities or for groups of students looking to concentrate on group work or assignments and needed a quiet place. Though the rooms were more than likely booked already, Yuushi felt it would not hurt to at least ask if any of the soundproof rooms were available.

The boy walked up to the receptionist and noticed a woman with glasses, "Excuse me. I was just wondering if any of the back rooms were available. I want to do a research assignment and that would be a nice place to start."

"One moment please. Let me see," the receptionist commented while she began typing on the computer in front of her, "What time is it? Alright then, Room 3 was originally booked by a club for an hour and a half but they are about ten minutes late now.

"So does that mean that I can use the room for an hour and a half then? Well, hour and twenty minutes now roughly," Yuushi asked just to make sure.

She nodded, "That's right. After that though, someone else may need to use the room so if another group or person shows up then, I'll have to give the room to them."

Yuushi nodded, "Thanks then."

He headed off to Room 3 which was the room in the middle section of the first floor to the back wall. Turning the knob and after a bit of a push, the door opened and Yuushi made his way inside and put his backpack on one of their chairs surrounding the square table which he sat in a chair beside it. Although Yuushi told Ayumi that he needed to go to the library to do some school work, that was a half-truth. The other half was some time to think about what had happened with Judgment in the Spirit World. Out of his backpack, the boy grabbed his deck along with other various Spell Counter, Spellcaster and Spellcaster-related cards.

"_Great. Now I'm stuck as a pawn of some sort in some grand experiment by Judgment. Even worse, I have no idea what it's about. Was it just a dream? No, it can't be. Unless I dreamed of events to come in the future...no, that's just not possible. Then again, rolling back time shouldn't be possible and Judgment seemed able to do it. Arcanite Magician is here too at least to help me out but we still need more information somehow. In any case, if this has to do with this world, the Spirit World and Duel Monsters, I at least know about two of those and there's one thing that seems to tie them together. This deck could use an update anyhow but just how will I change it..."_

He adjusted his glasses and then spread out various cards which included Magical Dimension, Secret Village of the Spellcasters, Secret Sanctuary of the Spellcasters, Tempest Magician, Sorcerer of Dark Magic, Magical Citadel of Endymion and Effect Veiler among others.

"_Secret Village and Sanctuary give me more lockdown, Royal Magical Library can be used for draw before Xyz or Synchro Summons, Tempest Magician gives more burn...hmm..."_

Yuushi separated his own deck based off monsters, spells and traps then rearranged them by combo potential and then tried some of his own experiments. Rapid Spell Counter gain, pure power, rapid destruction and burn were among the strategies he thought of.

"_Ayumi gave me Sorcerer of Dark Magic which has really high power, Magical Citadel is probably going to be kept maybe...what about Mega Ton Magical Cannon? It has a lot of build-up time but it will destroy every card on the opponent's field without targeting which can bypass some defenses..."_

Though Yuushi was absorbed in his own thoughts, he finished up some changes about twenty minutes later and had some ideas for his deck that he would test out later. For the time though, he made slight adjustments and was satisfied. On his D-Pad were notes about further improvements and cards he would look at sometime later on and see how well they would synergize with his deck. Since his limbs were getting a bit stiff, Yuushi decided to take a quick stretch before moving on to his assignment.

"_Still, even with these changes, Judgment had cards that are legendary. Every source I checked doubts cards like Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning even exist anymore. Who knows what else Judgment has? If I'm being watched even now...then just what can I do? It's like running around a maze blindfolded with no exit."_

Before he could finish though, there were some knocks on the door as someone began to furiously shake the handle.

"Who's in there?! Hey!"

At first, Yuushi ignored the knocks but they were getting louder and more frequent with the individual even trying to force the door open with their body. It would be hard to concentrate and before anything got out of hand, Yuushi decided to open the door and see who it was. The individual was a male student around Yuushi's size with dark spiky orange-blond hair wearing the school uniform.

However, this person was not alone as he was with two other males as the bigger one on the left shouted, "What's going on here? We had the room booked for one and a half hours and this guy stole it! You'd better start explaining."

Yuushi opened his mouth, "I just asked the receptionist and she gave the spot to me. This room was empty so I used the space."

Despite that, the big person was not stepping down, "I'm not going to let you disrespect Delta's Duelists! You can't just come walking in like you own the place."

Yuushi tried a more diplomatic approach, "I needed to work on an assignment and the tables were full. I talked to the receptionist and she told me that since a club was ten minutes late, they forfeit this spot meaning that I could use it."

The shorter individual was getting really nervous, "Guys. Calm down. This is a library you know. We're going to get in trouble."

The orange haired male chuckled a bit, "Hold on guys. You look familiar. Are you Yuushi, as in Yuushi Sakudo? Semi-finalist of the Delta Duel Monsters Tournament this year?"

"That's me. What about it?", the boy replied.

A male librarian asserted himself into the conversation, "Do you all have no manners? Show some respect and keep quiet. This is a library. If this little party continues, I suggest you take it outside where you won't be bothering the other students."

After the male librarian left, the orange-blond boy thought up something, "Alright. Alright. I'll tell you what. I sort of do agree that you disrespected our club by taking our spot but I sort of also agree that we were a bit late. Still, I think we should get the spot since we booked it first and there's more of us for our meeting."

"Is this spot really that important? I know you said there's a club meeting but aren't there better spots like the mall, the school courtyard, a bigger booked classroom that you could temporarily use as a room, etc?" Yuushi said trying to calm them down.

"It's not about the spot, it's about the honor. How would Delta look at Delta's Duelists if we let you just push us out without a fight. Tell you what, we won't bother you and I'll apologize for the behavior if you duel me. Unless of course, you're scared of our club. You don't want to be known as the semi-finalist chicken, do you?", the orange-blond haired male declared.

Yuushi sighed to himself, _"I can handle some distractions in the background but if someone distracts me on purpose, it'll probably not be worth my time to work. Besides, I did make some changes to my deck and what better way to test it out than on a real opponent. I really would rather not duel now but paper and theories aren't quite as good as a real field test."_

"Fine. You're on."

"Haha. Excellent. Just what I thought. How about just outside the school then?"

* * *

The four students made their way outside relatively close to the outer courtyard.

They arrived near the center as the other three stopped and looked at Yuushi with the orange-blond haired one stepping forward, "So what do think? Pretty great spot if I say so myself. Great area for a great duel."

Yuushi recognized this spot as a fairly popular spot that students would duel in and answered back, "Yeah, it's a nice spot."

Extending his hand forward, the orange-blond chuckled, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'll need to work on that. Name's Touya and I'm the club leader of Delta's Duelists."

His demeanor changed completely as Yuushi extended his hand for the handshake and he wasn't sure what to make of Touya.

"Good stuff. You seem a bit tense. Come on, lighten up a bit. Honestly, I just wanted to drag you out here for a nice duel. Glad these two could help me out with that," Touya chuckled.

The big guy titled his head, "Hey, what? I didn't know about that plan!"

"In all honestly, we could just meet at some other time like you said but to duel a strong duelist like yourself is a nice treat. Yourself, Hikaru, Sakura and Masaki were the semi-finalists. I already faced the other three so this will be interesting. Like with them, I'll stake my reputation on this duel," Touya said confidently.

Speaking of semi-finalists, a familiar one stepped forward, "Hey Yuushi! Touya! What are you two doing here?!"

Hikaru ran up as Touya grinned, "Perfect! Hikaru, last time we duelled I told you that I wanted to start a club focused on Duel Monsters. Especially on dueling and the professional scene. Well, that's what Delta's Duelists are for. Have a nice time, a great duel, a good time in general."

His voice got increasingly louder as more and more students began to take notice as they could see both Yuushi and Touya readying their D-Pads.

Yuushi was wondering about the sudden loudness in Touya's voice, _"It almost sounded like Touya was talking so loud so that he could advertise his club to everyone. Whatever the case, it certainly seemed to work as a small crowd of spectators are noticing us. Speaking of spectators, I wonder if Judgment is looking at this battle. If it is, that isn't good."_

"So are you interested in becoming a pro duelist then?," Yuushi questioned.

"Of course. Hikaru here got lucky and he's already on the path. For some like us, we still have to work and I've been preparing and looking at the professional scene for a while now. My favorite duelist is a great newcomer but has had tons of experience in Duel Monsters already. Maybe you've heard of Gauche the Star Man in Spartan City?"

Shaking his head, Yuushi denied it, "I know Gauche the quarter-finalist in the WDC."

Hikaru stepped in, "I think Keita mentioned something about this guy. He showed me a picture and he was in a great costume. Gauche was in the WDC as a duelist but I also heard he was an administrator."

"Yep. A cool guy and tons of people look up to him as a great person, myself included. He's my hero and this duel will be in honor of him. So let's start this thing!", Touya announced to everyone.

Yuushi and Touya moved a fair distance from one another with Touya's two members watching with Hikaru on the sides. The two duelists had their D-Pads extend out to form Duel Disks.

"Augmented Reality – Link Established"

The world around them began to digitize though remained the same so far as their D-Gazers lit up momentarily. Many other students decided to witness this duel as a crowd formed around Yuushi and Touya. With five cards in their hands, the duel was about to begin.

"Duel!"

Yuushi – 4000 LP  
Touya – 4000 LP

The club leader had the first move as he drew, "Now we're talking! I summon Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades!"

A hulking figure clad in a suit of thick metal armor descended down and landed causing a minor rumble on impact. The figure had countless white-silver extrusions resembling spiked blades sticking out of its armor from the back and wielded a bladed polearm (ATK: 1300, Level 4).

"Pretty cool monster right?"

"Yeah. It does look pretty good," Yuushi plainly replied.

Touya chuckled, "Glad you like it. In fact I like this monster so much, I'll summon another. Now I activate the effect of Thousand Blades and thanks to this, I'll Special Summon another 'Heroic Challenger' monster from my deck by discarding Heroic Challenger Double Lance. Come on out! Heroic Challenger – Spartan!"

After sending Double Lance from his hand, Thousand Blades raised up its polearm and courageously shouted out as another monster heard the call and emerged from a summoning portal beside the warrior. Like the name had suggested, the monster resembled a Spartan warrior from Ancient Greece. With shining gold and silver armor and a red cape, Spartan took a battle stance and in its hands were a spear and a large red-golden round shield big enough to defend a large portion of its body. Even the golden-colored helmet had a design matching a full helm used in an ancient era which completely covered the monster's head and face only leaving a small opening for its eyes (ATK: 1600, Level 4). Regardless of that display, Thousand Blades seemed to use up its energy as the monster knelled down into a resting position with its polearm in front to block any incoming attacks (DEF: 1100, Level 4).

Though Yuushi expected an Xyz Summon, Touya grabbed two cards from his hand, "There is a small price to pay though since I used Thousand Blades's effect so it has to go into DEF position. Whatever! It's the first turn so I can't attack anyways which means just these two cards face-down. Let's see what you can do, Yuushi!"

In front of the orange-blond haired duelist, two cards materialized behind his two monsters as it was Yuushi's turn though he took some time to think before starting.

"_Odd. With two Level 4 monsters out, that's almost a guaranteed Xyz Summon. I wonder why he didn't do it. Maybe he's focusing on defending for the time. Wait, I see. He wants to utilize Spartan's effect so I better work around it."_

"My turn now! Draw!"

He grabbed a card, "I summon Crusader of Endymion!"

A turquoise portal opened up before a form of light was outlined in front of the portal. This Spellcaster at first glance appeared to be a large blue armored individual but looking more closely, the gauntlets, leggings and shoulders of the armor were actually bound near the individual using runic magic. The only things that were actually being worn on the body were the chest armor, full helmet and the thin brown robes underneath the armor (ATK: 1800, Level 4).

Yuushi looked at the two 'Heroic Challenger' monsters but mostly at Spartan, _"If there's another 'Heroic' monster other than Spartan and my monster attacks it, Spartan gains the other monster's original ATK. Thousand Blades is another story and should be much safer for attack. Though Touya won't lose any Life Points since its in DEF mode, Thousand Blades is the right target."_

"Crusader of Endymion attacks Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades! Go!"

The Spellcaster's arm was empowered with magic as the gauntlet attached itself to the glowing arm before the gauntlet itself was illuminated. Charging forward, runes formed on the gauntlet as Crusader of Endymion intended to make a powerful punch with its fists.

Touya grinned, "You're trying to take out Thousand Blades. Smart choice, Yuushi, but not in this case!"

Yuushi was concerned, "What does that mean?"

"This battle will cost you! Hope you're ready for this! Eat this Trap Card! Heroic Advance!"

While Crusader of Endymion was launching forward, Heroic Challenger Spartan's own spear and shield began to glow as the spear enlarged itself. Stepping in front of the other monster and raising its shield up, everyone knew that the now defending Spartan wanted to take this attack.

"This Trap Card lets me switch your attack target and aim it at my Heroic Challenger Spartan. Even better, the new Level 4 or lower 'Heroic' monster gains double attack and the monsters involved can't be destroyed in battle!", Touya clarified and pointed to Yuushi's monster, "The excitement has only begun! Before Heroic Advance takes place, I'll chain it to Spartan's effect! Since the new target of your attack is Spartan, I'll activate its effect!"

"_That isn't good. The whole point of that attack was to avoid this effect! At this rate...that means!",_ Yuushi thought to himself while his eyes widened after crunching the numbers in his head.

Hikaru looked on, _"That Spartan will have really high ATK. Nothing Yuushi could do I suppose but for Touya, this is about a normal thing he would do. An all-in type of attack. Strike or be struck down. Sometimes even I think Touya's a bit too focused on charging forward. That is basically his saying."_

"Spartan gains ATK equal to another Heroic Challenger on the field for this Battle Phase! Afterwards, Heroic Advance doubles the boost for a grand total of 5800 ATK!", the other duelist shouted.

As Touya had said, Heroic Challenger Spartan gained its first boost through its own effect as it originally prepared to step in front and take the attack (Spartan ATK: 1600+1300= 2900 ATK). Now by advancing in front of the other 'Heroic' monster, this formation fully took effect as the already boosted Spartan received another tremendous ATK spike (Spartan ATK: 2900x2= 5800 ATK).

"5800 ATK!", Hikaru shouted out with awe.

"That will be exactly 4000 points of damage! Enough for a One Shot Kill!", Touya shouted with surging confidence while looking around at the audience, "One Shot Kill! One Shot Kill!"

His enthusiasm spread to the audience as they began to chant in unison, "One Shot Kill! One Shot Kill!"

The big person who was with Touya raised his fist, "Take him out!"

With that, Heroic Challenger Spartan decided not to wait and charged forward as well. Everyone knew that Yuushi's monster would be destroyed and the duel would be over soon.

"Hate to be the one to ruin this moment! But you won't finish me that easy!," Yuushi shouted and revealed a Quick-Play Spell Card from his hand, "Before that attack connects, I activate Magical Dimension!"

Right before Heroic Challenger Spartan collided with Crusader of Endymion, the Spellcaster vanished off the field in a golden light confusing a majority of the spectators and even Touya.

"Huh? What sort of trick is this?!", Yuushi's opponent exclaimed.

"When there is a Spellcaster-Type monster on my field, I can tribute a monster and Special Summon another Spellcaster from my hand! Come on out, Chaos Command Magician!"

The golden light reformed into a different figure. As the light faded, rather than seeing heavy blue armor, this magician had dark green and black attire that covered nearly everything from head to toe. Additionally, there were golden stripes and patterns as well as red gems attached to the garments. Even the human-appearing Spellcaster itself seemed to have green skin as it pulled out its similarly colored staff with a red gem on the tip and prepared for battle (ATK: 2400, Level 6).

"I activate another effect of Magical Dimension! I destroy one monster on the field when my Spellcaster is Special Summoned out like that!"

Behind Spartan, a gold and black sarcophagus appeared from nowhere and opened itself. The device swallowed Spartan whole in an instant before detonating itself causing everyone around to see the explosion as the smoke cleared with nothing left behind.

Yuushi moved on, "It's still my Battle Phase and my new Spellcaster hasn't attacked yet!"

With that command, Chaos Command Magician pointed its staff at the remaining Heroic Challenger. A white sphere of lightning was quickly discharged as the sphere collided with Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades who screamed in agony. Electricity crackled and surrounded the monster who exploded shortly afterwards as Touya covered himself from the resulting debris.

"I'll set this one card and end my turn!", the Spellcaster duelist concluded while the lone card materialized onto his field.

Despite taking the advantage, Yuushi was still tense as he was thinking about multiple matters, _"Heroic Challengers. They mostly try to get control of the field by battling with extremely high ATK. Its so high in fact that if I'm not careful throughout this duel, I could lose in an instant just like what was about to happen with that combo. I have to win and keep getting stronger. I need to be prepared to face Judgment or whatever it calls itself and losing again isn't an option. That won't happen. Realistically though, Judgment is holding all the cards and making all the shots while I have no moves at all."_

Yuushi's lengthy thought process caused him to space out and was annoying Touya, "Wake up and show some spirit! It would have been boring if it ended that fast! Now I draw!"

He showed a Monster Card from his hand, "I have no monsters and you have some which means I can Special Summon Heroic Challenger – Assault Halberd straight from my hand!"

A lightning bolt struck from the sky with a figure appearing in a flash of light on the battlefield. This individual was equipped with purple and white-silver armor which completely covered all parts of this monster. Attached to the shoulders and knees of the armor were steel spikes though they paled in comparison to the three edges of the halberd in its hand (ATK: 1800, Level 4).

"Now I summon Heroic Challenger – Double Lance!"

A white light lit up a portion of the battlefield with another Warrior-Type monster coming forth. This silver chrome fighter had a peculiar armor scheme resembling a knight from the future. The helmet was based off a Roman-style full helm and there was a small engraved red insignia in the center of the monster's chest armor. In this humanoid's hands were a pair of gold handled, blue-silver tipped spears (ATK: 1700, Level 4).

Next, Touya swung his arm out as his face-down Trap Card sprung up, "There are two effects I need to use but first I'll use Copy Knight since I just Normal Summoned a Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster. It can summon this card to the field with the same Level and name as the Normal Summoned monster."

The purple card began to glow and in front of the card, a steel suit of armor digitized for a quick moment before it gave a flash of blinding light that caused Yuushi to look away. Soon enough, the light faded but rather than the suit of armor, a slightly darker, much weaker identical replica of Heroic Challenger – Double Lance took its place (ATK: 0, Level 4).

Now the original Double Lance began to glow and was quickly and completely covered in an orange glow. For a moment, Yuushi thought that despite his glasses, he was getting double vision but it was actually Heroic Challenger – Double Lance splitting into two images of itself though the other one went into a defensive position like Thousand Blades did earlier (DEF: 900, Level 4).

"That was Double Lance's own effect in action. I can Special Summon another Heroic Challenger – Double Lance from my graveyard in DEF position when another Double Lance is Normal Summoned! Even though its Double Lance, I have three of them which is perfect for an Xyz Summon! I Overlay all three Level 4 Double Lances!"

The three identical monsters turned into two orange rays of light representing the original two Earth attribute Double Lances and the darker one was the Copy Knight Double Lance which changed into a yellow ray of light.

"I create an Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!"

Before long, they were drawn into an opening red vortex in the sky. After the last ray of light went inside, it exploded outwards and a massive figure was called out from the portal. Touya was beginning to get excited as one of his stronger monsters was about to take to the field.

"Now! Show yourself! Heroic Champion – Kusanagi!"

A huge heavily armored samurai stood in front of Yuushi holding a large orange-yellow sword of flaming light which extended out above the monster. The armor was mostly brown in color covered by thick orange padding on the shoulders and helmet with similar green padding on the leggings. Three orange Overlay Units surrounded the monster who showed no signs of slowing down (ATK: 2500, Rank 4, OU: 3).

"Better get ready for a fight, Kusanagi! Charge forward!"

After pointing towards Chaos Command Magician, Kusanagi leapt upwards off the ground high into the air. Its large size did not seem to be a hindrance at all and with a quick swing of its blade, a single diagonal slash of light cut through Yuushi's Spellcaster who vanished into light as the warrior sheathed its sword.

Yuushi – 3900 LP  
Touya – 4000 LP

Despite the minute loss in Life Points, there was nothing for Yuushi to do as he looked at his set Trap Card, _"I would have used this but Kusanagi's own effect would have just negated and destroyed any Trap Card I want to play. As an added bonus, it gains 500 ATK so it was better of me just to take that attack and this one as well. Did Touya summon Kusanagi just to stop this card?!"_

Now the second part of the attack commenced as Touya continued, "Assault Halberd! Direct attack on Yuushi!"

With a single speedy dash forward, the monster was within striking distance of his opponent before the boy with the glasses even realized. The halberd was raised up and was quickly swung down causing a illusion of light representing the vertical slash through Yuushi who fell to one knee and struggled to stand.

Yuushi – 2100 LP  
Touya – 4000 LP

Reaching for his deck, Touya fanned it open while revealing another effect that took place, "I can add a 'Heroic' card to my hand since Assault Halberd dealt some nice battle damage. Ah, this one is a great pick against you!"

Through some searching, Touya found the card he was looking for and showed Yuushi his pick which was Heroic Challenger – Legionary.

Yuushi analyzed Touya's choice, _"While the stats on Legionary are about average, I'm pretty sure Touya wanted the effect more than anything. By sending it to the graveyard, 'Heroic' monsters he has can't be destroyed by card effects for that turn. That means he's thinking I'll use Arcanite Magician and has functionally sealed it off. If I can't use that, just what can I do?"_

"When you face me, I always bring the fight to my opponents! You want to challenge me with boxes and trickery?! No magic any Spellcaster has, even your Arcanite Magician ace, will stop me and my monsters! Illusions and sorcery are average but they can't replace the excitement of an old-fashioned brutal brawl!", Touya howled proudly.

The audience cheered as he looked around and was getting fired up, "See! Everyone knows what I'm talking about. You watch those action, samurai, ninja, cowboy movies and my favorite part is always that one moment where there's two people staring each other down and waiting for that one moment. When the time is right, they pull out their weapons and the one with the most courage is the winner! Just one mistake in a high-risk situation is all it takes. The whole movie can be boring but just that one tense moment done right is what I live for! That is my style of dueling and excitement like that is the motto of our club, Delta's Duelists!"

"Yeah, those are always the most thrilling parts. A climax where the atmosphere and setting come to a silent halt for that brief point. It is very interesting and exhilarating," Yuushi admitted.

"Got that right. Maybe a bit too much though for a guy like you. You seem to be the bookworm type. High grades, high smarts, got the glasses but you won't be ready for the fast paced power my Heroic Deck has to offer! Might be a bit out of your league!", boasted Touya.

Yuushi felt like a bit of his taunting was a show for the crowd as were certain other aspects but he could feel Touya's genuine spirit and could not help but get into it a bit himself, "Perhaps! But if excitement and high tense performances are your dueling style, then I'll be ready for it because that's my dueling style!"

"Excellent! I end my turn then so bring it on!", his opponent challenged.

Before continuing, Yuushi sighed with relief and smiled, _"I have to be ready both in physical and mental form. Even with the greatest deck and the strongest strategies, having a spirit that's just as strong is as important. Touya just keeps charging and while crude, it shows a great believe in himself and his deck. Even if Judgment or the Spirit World is watching me, so what, let them watch and all I can do is believe. Believe in my own spirit and my deck and try to overcome this obstacle. Besides, thinking about it too much has its own problems. It's coming whether I like it or not so I might as well be in great spirits when the time comes!"_

Yuushi quickly swiped a card, "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get! Draw! I summon Defender the Magical Knight!"

Hikaru eagerly screamed from the sidelines, "Yeah! Bring it to him, Yuushi!"

In the ground, a white opening formed as a heavy armored blue-skinned humanoid in blue and gold full plate armor emerged out. Red gems were encrusted in the upper portion and helmet of the armor and the figure wielded a small but wide dagger in one hand and a massive square shield in the other. The shield itself was almost like a wall which was nearly as tall and wide as the wielder with magical runes that reinforced the defensive tool (ATK: 1600, Level 4).

"This monster gets a single Spell Counter when it is Normal Summoned to the field!"

The red gem on the shield activated which caused a slight red aura of magic to coat the front side of the shield in an extra protective layer (Defender SC: 1).

"However, that won't be around for long because I'll Special Summon Black Gust Sorcerer from my hand by removing all Spell Counters from Defender!"

Yuushi placed the card on his Duel Disk which triggered a burst of wind to blow through the battlefield. The unnatural wind blew past Defender and even took away some magical power from the monster's shield which faded back to its original state (Defender SC: 0). A small tornado formed from the wind before quickly dissipating and revealing a medium sized figure inside. Judging by the face, the magician was relatively youthful though the black battle robes and black pointed wizard's hat covered the rest of this Spellcaster's body. The edges of the battle robes had green sections along the collar, sleeves and pants and even the wand in his hands followed a similar color scheme (ATK: 300, Level 4).

Without wasting time, Yuushi progressed, "This inexperienced Spellcaster has a few side-effects such as being only able to Special Summon Spellcaster-Type monsters this turn but that's fine. I Overlay the Level 4 Defender and Black Gust Sorcerer!"

Transforming into a purple and yellow stream of light, both monsters left behind trails of their respective color and were drawn into a red spiral portal in the middle of the field.

"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Rise up! Curse Magician!"

A dark purple haze shrouded the area and a shadowy figure could be seen inside. The clear blue outline was the biggest hint that there was something inside until the haze faded. With black and dark blue armor, the Spellcaster swung its arm making the haze disappear completely. There was no weapon to be seen but judging by the stance and gaze this monster gave to the opposing warrior, this Spellcaster was ready to battle. Two dark purple sphere of light circled around the mysterious monster for added effect (ATK: 2300, Rank 4, OU: 2).

"Since Black Gust Sorcerer was used as an Overlay Unit, I can banish Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades from your graveyard!"

An ominous black wind blew into Touya and took with it, the Thousand Blades card from the graveyard as it disappeared into the winds.

"Next, I activate an Equip Spell! One-Shot Wand! This card gives a Spellcaster-Type monster 800 ATK!"

Though an Equip Spell was just played, the card itself did not seem to manifest at all on the field. Curse Magician was still wielding no weapon in sight though the card did give the armored monster a blue aura of power (Curse ATK: 2300+800= 3100 ATK)

"Curse Magician has it's own effect which I will use by detaching an Overlay Unit!"

Now Curse Magician moved its arm forward and gripped its fist causing a large scythe to materialize from out of nowhere. The scythe was red-black in color though the blade was in excellent condition giving off a shimmer of light. Further more, the blade was coated with a brilliant golden light from One-Shot Wand. An Overlay Unit was absorbed by the weapon (Curse OU: 2-1= 1) as Kusanagi was covered in a red-black aura causing the monster to stagger continuously (Kusanagi ATK: 2500-400= 2100 ATK).

The spiky haired duelist was concerned for his monster, "What the?!"

"When this card is on the field and I've activated Spell Cards, Curse Magician's effect can weaken one monster your control by 400 times the amount of activated Spell Cards once per turn," the boy with the glasses explained.

"_With Kusanagi on the field, this Trap Card won't do me any good so I'd better take it out."_

Wasting little time, the scythe wielding Spellcaster floated forward as Yuushi entered his Battle Phase, "Curse Magician! Attack!"

With an eerie glow, the scythe sliced down cutting Kusanagi straight in half as it exploded into shards of light that showered down on Touya who braced himself for the impact.

Yuushi – 2100 LP  
Touya – 3000 LP

The scythe's glow faded (Curse ATK: 3100-800= 2300 ATK) as Yuushi grabbed the Equip Card on his Duel Disk, "Since the monster with this card attacked successfully, I can destroy this card if I want to draw one card.

Moving his fingers over the top of his deck, Yuushi added that card which was now the only card in his hand. Heroic Challenger – Assault Halberd remained but there were no other moves for Yuushi at this time.

"That's my turn, Touya!"

"Nice attack!", the club leader shouted back as he added another card to his hand and was pleased with what he drew, "Ready or not, I'm all in now! I summon Heroic Challenger – Night Watchman!"

Beside the halberd wielding monster was a much stranger purple caped humanoid with two layers of armor. The outer layer was dark brown and included a thick vest-like padding around the chest with matching boots and gloves and the inner layer was more like a dull grey cloth. A white mask with red patterns covered this monster's face who also held a sword and oil lantern in its hands (ATK: 1200, Level 4).

The next move was the more obvious move unlike before, "I Overlay the Level 4 Assault Halberd and Night Watchman!"

As with the other Xyz Summons, a red portal opened in front of Touya as Assault Halberd and Night Watchman were already both orange streams of energy by this time and being drawn in to the portal. This caused a reaction with the portal as the red light expanded rapidly.

"I create an Overlay Network with these two monsters! Come forth, sheathed in light! The shining lord who slashes through the darkness! Xyz Summon! Appear before us! Heroic Champion – Excalibur!"

Up above, the clouds darkened as something travelled down to the battlefield through a bolt of lightning. A minor thunder storm covered the area with a swordsman wearing silver and dark red armor stood alone on Touya's side. The helmet that was being worn had a gold ornament around the forehead which extended up and outwards to the side with two yellow spheres of light orbiting the swordsman (ATK: 2000, Rank 4, OU: 2).

The club leader was in high spirits, "Hah! This ace monster has won me plenty of duels in a single stroke! Why don't you see its power for yourself! I activate Excalibur's effect! By using two Overlay Units, this cards ATK becomes twice its original ATK until the end of your turn!"

The two Overlay Units went into the armor (Excalibur OU: 0) which induced a powerful effect for Excalibur. This effect generated a blue aura around it as the monster pulled out its gold and red hilt blade which was covered in a similar aura (Excalibur ATK: 4000).

"_I'm close to losing but it's not a finishing attack,"_ Yuushi said to himself amazed at the massive spike in power.

The last card that Touya had drawn was placed on the field, "I activate Magnum Shield from my hand! This Equip Spell gives Excalibur more ATK equal to its DEF."

A large diamond-shaped red shield with a golden outer edge was provided for Excalibur who used in its other arm. Regardless of shields normally used for defensive purposes, this shield elevated Excalibur's ATK even further (Excalibur ATK: 4000+2000= 6000 ATK).

"This is what Touya's been waiting for! An end to the duel in one strike!", Hikaru shouted out.

"Yuushi, you will meet your end in an instant! Charge onward, Excalibur! True Sword Finishing Slash!"

With a leap into the air, Touya's monster has its sword ready to swing down on Yuushi's monster who prepared itself to meet the attack with its scythe.

"I activate a Trap Card!"

The two attacks collided as a burst of white light erupted from the clash. Despite the much weaker Curse Magician taking the attack, they were actually deadlocked. Touya could not believe his eyes but he started to notice metal reinforcements along Curse Magician's armor that was the source of the white light. Sparks began to fly and a shockwave burst out which caused cracks in the ground with both monsters being repelled back by the force.

"What the?! What happened?", Touya yelled out and then saw a revealed Trap Card on Yuushi's side.

"Power Frame happened! Since your monster had the higher ATK in battle, this card negated the attack and equipped itself onto Curse Magician. This card also gives Curse Magician ATK equal to the difference between the two monsters which means that now my monster is on par with yours!"

Looking more carefully, the extra reinforcements on Curse Magician were more like amplifiers that had absorbed the force of Excalibur's powerful attack as the two monsters stared each other down (Curse ATK: 2300+3700= 6000 ATK).

"Haha! I thought you were one of those typical hermit types. You know, the ones afraid to engage with people and just isolate themselves on a mountain. I thought you would out of your comfort zone without tricks and magic but I see you have pretty good brawling experience too!", complimented Touya.

Though worded a bit strange, Yuushi nodded, "Thanks. You know this duel did help me loosen up. There was something that I was worrying about. I had no control over it and I knew it would eventually happen but rather than just grumble in frustration over it, I'd have to face it head-on so I might as well enjoy it!"

"Good words. I end my turn!", Touya shouted back.

"Here goes!", Yuushi replied back loudly and started his turn, "First, I activate Allure of Darkness and draw two cards!"

As he said that, Yuushi added the top two cards from his deck into his hand, "Next, I have to banish a Dark Attribute monster from my hand like Magical Marionette!"

He inserted the card into the appropriate slot and continued on, "Then, I'll activate Pot of Duality!"

A turquoise and blue pot with a face was on the ground in front of Yuushi. The pot opened its eyes and three cards were shot upwards and shown to Yuushi, Touya and the spectators around them. In order, the cards were Royal Magical Library, Pitch-Black Power Stone and Terraforming.

"_Excellent!"_, Yuushi noted before expanding on the effect, "I can only activate a single Pot of Duality per turn and I cannot Special Summon this turn. These were the top three cards of my deck and I will add Terraforming to my hand while the others are shuffled back into my deck!"

A golden card glowed in Yuushi's hand and it was the newly added Terraforming while the other two went back inside the pot. On Yuushi's Duel Disk, the deck shuffled itself which was a really nice feature on any Duel Disk.

"I activate Spell Card Terraforming which lets me add a Field Spell from my hand to my hand! The card I'll choose is Secret Village of the Spellcasters!"

A thin blue pillar of light shot up from Yuushi's Duel Disk and then outward which covered the battlefield in a blue glow. The named Field Spell was sticking out from the deck as Yuushi grabbed hold of the card.

"Fourth, I activate the Field Spell I just got! Hah!"

A golden shower of light blanketed the battlefield as the area reflected the image on the card. Massive trees unlike any on the planet formed a dense forest around the area and underneath the trees were huts, houses and other buildings. The spectators were looking on with curiosity and awe at the mystical place they were brought to. Spread out along the area were green-blue spheres of light that seemed to be part of this natural environment.

"This area has certain properties to it. If I have a Spellcaster and you do not, you cannot activate any Spell Cards but if I have no Spellcaster-Type monsters, I cannot activate any Spell Cards. Since I have Curse Magician, everything is fine on my end."

With the last card in Yuushi's hand, the last part of his plan was in place, "The last Spell Card I need! Blustering Winds! Curse Magician gains an extra 1000 ATK until my next Standby Phase!"

The lightning storm intensified and a strong flow of wind swept through the field. It began to surround Curse Magician who managed to concentrate the elements around its scythe causing the weapon to be surrounded by a golden wind (Curse ATK: 6000+1000= 7000 ATK).

"Now my monster's effect activates! Since I activated five Spell Cards while it was here this Main Phase, your monster loses 2000 ATK!"

The last Overlay Unit on Curse Magician was drawn into the scythe and by using up an Overlay Unit (Curse OU: 1-1= 0), the weakening ability from before hit Excalibur who started to stumble and stagger on its feet (Excalibur ATK: 6000-2000= 4000 ATK).

The big guy from the audience widened his eyes, "Wait! With this difference, Touya might lose!"

Yuushi looked at Touya, "Now I'll end this in a single stroke!"

In an instant, Curse Magician disappeared and reappeared behind the weakened Excalibur and with a horizontal sweep of its scythe, the attack went through Excalibur who exploded off the field. The impact travelled over to Touya who was sent flying back onto the ground.

Yuushi – 2100 LP - WIN  
Touya – 0 LP

A blaring horn signalled the end of the duel as the audience began to cheer and scatter.

Touya managed to get up as he saw Yuushi, Hikaru and the two other club members make their way over.

"Sorry I lost that guys. But it was fun at least!," Touya apologized and looked to Yuushi while putting out his hand.

Yuushi shook his hand, "You sure do know when to strike though. I just had some safety measures in place."

"Some lucky safety measures...but it was still a great duel," the big guy added in.

The shorter member nodded, "Everyone seemed to be really into it. I think the name Delta's Duelists will be spread across the school."

"It could have gone either way! But Yuushi, what were you worried about?", Hikaru commented.

The Spellcaster duelist hesitated, "I'll tell you when the time is right. Right now, I need some more information but I know that if I keep moving forward...I should be able to find something."

As everyone dispersed, Yuushi looked up to the sky saw a glimmer of light. Whether or not Judgment was watching or planning or doing whatever, that was no reason to change his life or suddenly get fixated on things he would normally not get stressed over. There would be a head-on collision some day and he had to do everything within reason to prepare for that eventual moment.

* * *

**Original Cards**

Black Gust Sorcerer

Level 4

Dark Attribute

Spellcaster/Effect

ATK: 300, DEF: 600

You can Special Summon this card from your hand by removing all Spell Counters from a Spellcaster-Type monster you control (min. 1). If you activate this effect, you cannot Special Summon any monsters for the rest of the turn, except for Spellcaster-Type monsters. You can only control 1 "Black Gust Sorcerer". An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card as an Overlay Unit gains this effect

When it is Xyz Summoned, banish 1 card in your opponent's graveyard

Curse Magician

Rank 4

Dark Attribute

Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect

ATK: 2300, DEF: 1200

2 Level 4 Spellcaster-Type monsters

When this card is on the field, once per turn, during your Main Phase 1, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card to target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. It loses 400 ATK for each Spell Card activated during Main Phase 1 until the End Phase.

Heroic Challenger – Legionary (credit to Overlord reign)

Level 4

Earth Attribute

Warrior/Effect

ATK: 1500, DEF: 800

During either player's turn, if you control a face-up "Heroic" monster, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard and until the end of this turn, "Heroic" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects.

* * *

**Note: It took a while but the deck concept and some original cards for Touya was submitted by Overlord reign. Thanks a lot for that.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 Preview**

Ryoko: Did you hear?! Reiji's back from his overseas trip and there's a girl with him!

Hikaru: Reiji Sikiri. I've heard quite a few things about him.

Yuushi: I wonder where he's been and if he's seen anything interesting during that time.

Ayumi: They say that he's one of the best all-around duelists and the current best at Delta Academy.

Yuushi: Wait. Arcanite Magician is reacting to something. Chapter 4: Annihilus Dragon. Don't tell me that he's tied to this too!


End file.
